Against the Grain
by crossyourteez
Summary: There was always a certain distance, a wary boundary, between the two of us. It had been necessary—he was a demon; I was a human, and though we had become good friends… and even more… the separation was an instinctive and natural thing. Often, when I looked back on this moment, I wondered why going against the grain had been so simple. OC/Kurama, DT arc
1. Prelude

**AGAINST THE GRAIN**

_"The ideas and feelings are fast and frequent like shooting stars… But, somewhere, this fast ideas are far too fast, and there are far too many; overwhelming confusion replaces clarity. Everything previously moving with the grain is now against-you are irritable, angry, frightened, uncontrollable… It will never end, for madness carves its own reality."_

_-Kay Jamison_

Prelude

* * *

It would only be a matter of time before the others met up, figured out that I was not, in fact, with either group, and doubled back to claim me. By now, Kurama would be almost completely healed from his fights, and well up to the task. My time with Ryo was running out, and he wasn't even here yet. If he didn't arrive soon, then I wouldn't be able to talk to him.

I ceased pacing and frowned to myself, thinking.

Why _should_ I care, really, about Ryo? Sure he had been acting... enigmatic, which was puzzling in itself (because Ryo simply didn't act that way), but why should I risk a lecture from Botan or Kurama, for his sake...?

Why, indeed? My frown deepened as I realized that I couldn't answer my own questions.

I thought back to our bizarre encounter, trying to justify my staying here. It was a gut instinct to stay rooted to the spot – some obscure sentiment was what held me here, and I didn't exactly know what it was. But it was troubling.

His face...

It loomed up into the forefront of my mind; the memory was hazy, uncertain, but real. The... fear, the anxiety on his features had been very real. And very worrisome.

_Trying to tell me something, but couldn't,_ I reminded myself, quoting my own thoughts, my own musings from only a few hours ago. _Oh Ryo, what have you gotten yourself into now…?_

I continued pacing back and forth along the railing, my fingers tracing the metal. The minutes ticked by, but still-I waited. I couldn't make myself leave. I wished I could say I stayed for a good reason. For curiosity's sake, even. But not _worry_. Worry for the boy who had almost gotten me killed, who had betrayed me, who was simply _annoying_.

But still, I stayed, and as the sun sank lower, my heart did the same. Sighing heavily, I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the railing, and my chin on my hands. I would stay here until someone came looking for me.

"Looking for someone?"

The voice was silky, smooth like glass, and it sent sharp spikes of fear running down my spine. I whirled as dread seeped into my veins-

-Because, as I spun around to face him, and saw the evil in his eyes, I was instantly aware of two things:

Ryo wasn't coming.

And this was not going to end well.

He loomed over me, violet eyes glittering with malice, gray metal mask obscuring the triumphant, thin-lipped smile that I knew was present on his features. And as he assessed my reaction-eyes crinkling in sinister amusement-I felt my blood run cold.

I felt my heart race frantically in my chest, and heard the gasp that escaped my lips, dragging air into my lungs. And I felt the adrenaline rush into my veins, preparing for the worst.

I was frozen in terror, paralyzed... but I felt my lips move as I said his name.

"Karasu."

* * *

…**Well, things haven't changed **_**too**_** too much since I was last here…**

**So yeah. I suppose I'm back. And editing my old stories, and reposting them. Of all the things, huh?**

**Happy to see me? :P**


	2. Juxtaposed

**So… I suppose I'm back.**

**I got super frustrated at a bunch of unrelated stuff, and decided that I needed to take a break from this to get my priorities in order. Things are doing just fine in some ways at the moment; in other ways they're worse than before. But it's worth the tradeoff, and at the moment, I'm looking for a distraction and perhaps a little bit of ego-stroking. **

**Joking about the last bit ;)**

**Hope you guys enjoy this updated and edited first chapter of _Against the Grain_, and leave a review telling me how I did. As always, it's greatly appreciated!**

* * *

_You always admire what you really don't understand. _

_- Blaise Pascal_

Juxtaposed

* * *

The whole assembly was a blur, a smudge of purple and more purple against the unremarkable expanse of the gym's white walls.

I lifted my hand and nudged the focus knob on the lens slightly. The camera focused on one boy, and stubbornly refused to bring the student body into clarification. I frowned and reached for the lens again, but then froze as the boy yawned. Before the look of complete and utter boredom could fully leave his features, I hurriedly pressed down the shutter and recorded the moment onto digital film.

_Not exactly the effect I was looking for,_ I thought critically but with fondness as the picture popped up on the camera's digital screen, _but far too metaphorical to delete._ The lethargy of the first day back… priceless.

First Day Project_._ That's what the yearbook editor- in- chief had christened the otherwise unexceptional day. '_Capture_ the life and lies of the student body,' or some poetic crap like that. I laughed quietly to myself as I remembered the glassy- eyed look on his blissful face, shaking my head. Someone didn't have anything better to do with his time.

Upon hearing the small noise, Ms. Kenshin, the school's hawk- eyed librarian, zeroed in on the happiness and gave me a beady look of indignation. I stifled my derisive giggle and pretended to adjust the neck strap on the camera.

Twenty minutes of dress code guidelines, general school regulations that nobody would follow, and several Kodak moments later, we were unleashed into the hallways and maternally directed to homeroom. Along the way, I spotted a boy I recognized from middle school nearly crying as he tried to pry his locker open, ignoring the lock as it clanged against the metal door.

I smirked and snapped his picture, then turned and walked into homeroom, and, consequently, four years of brainwashing.

"Omigosh I'm so _confused!_ Everything's so _different…!"_

I looked up from my book, eyebrow raised as I searched out the owner of the annoying voice. It was another familiar face from grade school, framed by (unsurprisingly) bleached-blonde hair and screwed up into a pained expression. I personally didn't understand it. You had your class, you stayed in it, the professors came to you. Not that different from middle school, really.

Right now it was lunch. Apparently on the first day, Meiou High fed all of their students in the auditorium. There were some tables set up, and a lunch line over by the exit. I had already claimed my food, and was picking at it unenthusiastically. I appreciated their hospitality, but it was rather nasty.

All my childhood friends had gone to different high schools, so I resigned myself to having to make new friends and sat with the yearbook staff. Chief, my nickname for the pompous editor, was almost crying with satisfaction over the pictures stored in my camera, which I had dutifully surrendered to him as I sat down for lunch.

"Miss Shueisha, I see _potential_. These are _wonderful."_ He announced rapturously, beaming at me.

"…It's Reina." I corrected, not glancing up.

"He's wonderful, isn't he?" The girl sitting next to me asked with a small smirk and an eyeroll. I nodded a bit in agreement, but before I could voice it, she continued: "My name's Hikari. Marana Hikari, that is. It's nice to meet you…?" She offered her hand in a Western-style handshake, her smile open and friendly.

I took it. "Shueisha Reina." I replied, smiling in kind. "It's nice to meet you too."

We fell into easy silence, which was a good thing. I wasn't exactly a talkative person, so I appreciated the non- conversational quietness. It wasn't awkward.

Sometime towards the end of lunch, Hikari glanced up, frowned, then grumbled, "Ugh, they're at it _again_."

"What...?" I twisted in my seat to see what she was looking at.

"Minamino Shuichi," she said. Her voice was a mixture of disgust and grudging admiration. "He used to go to my middle school. He's the one with the red hair," she verified.

Now that I knew who I was supposed to be looking at, I just barely caught sight of him between two flirting girls. "Every girl in my school was infatuated with him... and every one of them asked him out. Apparently nothing's changed," Hikari sniffed, rolling her eyes again. She had quite the knack for it.

Sure enough, there were about ten or so blondes surrounding him, fairly drooling over the boy. I rolled my eyes, turned around, and picked at the congealed mush that some claimed was lunch.

"Attack of the clones." I muttered dryly as three girls laughed hysterically at something the Minamino boy had said in identical hyena-esque tones. I winced a little. "I feel sorry for him. The company he keeps is painful to even listen to…"

Hikari gave me a look of indignation. "Well, _I_ don't." Hikari said resentfully, all traces of the grudging veneration gone. "He's a stuck-up git who can't settle on a girl. He thinks he's too smart for everyone."

I hid a smirk. Apparently, Hikari knew this "Shuichi's" dating habits from personal experience. Judging that mentioning this observation wouldn't be very helpful to my first shaky friendship, I simply shrugged, conforming my face into a somewhat neutral expression, and picked at my lunch some more.

* * *

The rest of the day passed fairly quickly. Hikari was in my class, as were some of Shuichi's fangirls who had not managed to get into his class. One of them was actually in tears. Hikari and I distanced ourselves from them and talked through boring classes, like Geometry and our literature class. That disappointed me a bit; usually I liked any form of the written word, but our literature professor was as interesting as a sack of potatoes.

When the last bell rang, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and headed down the crowded hallways. Within seconds, they were deserted. I sighed and took longer strides. I wanted to be home, too, but Chief had solemnly announced (over the intercom) that we should all turn in our cameras in at the end of the day for _examination._ I could dimly hear his stiff, dignified voice drifting from the yearbook room.

I turned another corner and ran headlong into Shuichi.

"Sorry, sorry!" I said, flushing as I bent down to help him pick up the stack of books I had knocked from his hands.

He kneeled to my level and smiled. "It's alright, really." He said politely, taking the notebook I held out to him. Green eyes held mine as we stood. He smiled.

"I'm Shuichi." He offered after an awkward moment.

"Reina."

"...You work on yearbook?" He had obviously spotted the camera. His tone was quizzical, but not insultingly so. I wondered why.

"Mhm," I said vaguely. "They had a recruitment-type program over the break. I was bored, so I went…" I fingered the camera, "And now I'm here," I finished with a small smile.

"Ah, yes," Shuichi supplied, nodding his head and rearranging the books in his arms a bit. "I was invited as well. So I take it you are a freshman then?" He continued the small talk with no strain at all.

"Yep. And I take it you are as well." My reply was more of a statement than a question-the program had been a incoming freshman-only event, because most of the yearbook staff had graduated the previous year.

"Perceptive," Shuichi commented with an absent (though not unkind) sort of smile, and started walking around me, heading for the exit, lifting a hand in a wave, "I'll see you later, Rei-"

In that second, several things happened at once.

I flinched as the back of his hand brushed mine as he passed, but I didn't cringe from the contact.

It was like a jolt of electricity, focused on that tiny point where his skin just barely touched mine, and I felt something that reminded me wildly of lightning coursing through my veins. My mouth popped open in shock, and Shuichi recoiled a considerable distance from me, eyes wide and laced with defensiveness. I saw all this through eyes widened with horrified fascination.

My breath came too fast and too shallow. My head was spinning. My mouth was dry. I felt and unpleasant sensation of millions of ants crawling over my skin, itching, burning. Tears stung my eyes, and I didn't exactly know why. I couldn't look away from Shuichi. He was like a magnet-I desperately wanted to look away and run away, but I couldn't.

As I watched, the wary look on his features cleared, and he gave me a Look.

_He looks weird_ _with a frown on his face._ I thought distractedly, head pounding. There was a roaring in my ears like wildfire. His eyes were narrowed but not unfriendly... like he was working out a complex math problem. Evaluative and unsure.

It didn't look... right...

And I didn't understand it.

It wasn't _natural_. I couldn't put my finger on it, the elusive _something_ that told me this was wrong; I should go. I ripped my gaze from his and dropped it to the floor. My eyes felt scratchy and irritated. I couldn't seem to force my eyelids to blink anymore.

The silence continued, and I sucked in a steadying breath, gaining control of my resolve again.

"Right. See you later." I squeaked in one breath, then turned and nearly ran for the yearbook room, fighting the instinctive and bewildering urge to turn and protect myself the whole way.

* * *

**Well, there were numerous syntax errors that I fixed, and a couple cultural accuracy mistakes as well. Like putting "Reina Shueisha" instead of putting the surname first, first name second as Japanese culture dictates you should. Little things like that shall be taken out and replaced, because I am nitpicky. :D**

**Thanks for reading, please leave a review on your way out!**


	3. Closer

**Thank you so much **_**Moldy Strawberry, Neassa, Shadow Ice Maiden, **_**and **_**Wild-Cheesecake**_** for leaving reviews! I wasn't expecting that much of a turnout, but I'm glad you guys liked it!**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter as well. :)**

**(Also, this one is COMPLETELY new. My computer crapped out awhile back, so I'm missing a few chapters, so I'm just rewriting them. I've made a few changes, hope y'all approve ;P**

* * *

_"Convictions are more dangerous foes of truth than lies." _

—_Friedrich Nietzche_

Closer

* * *

My alarm clock woke me from the deepest sleep I had ever experienced.

With a groan, I reached one aching arm over to turn it off, but instead slapped the snooze button wearily. I couldn't make sense of it. As soon as I had gotten home and eaten something, I went straight to my room and passed out. I had gotten _at least _eleven hours of sleep… I had no right to be so tired.

After hitting the snooze several times, I forced myself out of bed because now I was a little later than I should've been. I slugged into the shower and turned the water as cold as it would go, hoping it would wake me up a bit more. My nerves twitched in an unpleasant way as the water hit me, but that was it.

I didn't have enough time to blow dry my hair, so I put on my uniform and wrapped it in a towel, dragging myself to the kitchen to eat something before I left. As I ate my cereal with one eye on the kitchen clock, I felt a pang of apprehension.

Other than _not_ wanting to go to school today because I was exhausted, I absolutely had no desire to see Minamino today. None. He made me nervous and uncomfortably tingly in a _very_ weird way, and I didn't want to be anywhere near him for some time, if ever.

As I picked up my backpack and tossed my towel in the hamper, I found some solace in the fact that he wasn't in my class.

* * *

Okay, scratch that.

I balked in the doorway as soon as I walked in and saw red hair.

His eyes found me there, frozen in the doorway, and flicked up casually to my face. He smiled a little smile and lifted a hand to wave in greeting, which I did not return, shocked as I was. Finally I regained use of my legs and strode quickly over to my desk by the window, where Hikari was waiting. I sat down in my chair and twisted in my seat to look her directly in the eye.

"Minamino," we whispered in unison. Her voice was exasperated; mine was desperately confused and panicked.

"_How did this happen_?" I hissed. "How, HIkari?"

"I know, right?" she muttered with a quick glance over to Shuichi—he was surrounded by the class C section of his fan base—and looked back at me. "We aren't going to learn _anything_ with them squalling about him…"

"Hikari, _how?'_ I pressed, my voice breaking just enough to make her study me in a worried sort of way. I sucked in a breath to calm myself down.

"We got a new student," she explained slowly. "Our grade is separated in alphabetical order between our classes, so… Shuichi was at the bottom of his alphabetically. He got moved down to our class when the new kid arrived."

I sank a little into my chair, defeated.

"Are you… okay?" Hikari asked me slowly, and then her gaze flicked up to a point over my head. "Oh. Hi."

"I was about to ask her the same question." Shuichi's tone was light and conversational. I tried my best not to look too anxious as I turned around to look up at him, but I think I probably failed. Green eyes held mine. "You look rather pale, Reina. Are you alright?"

"F-fine," I replied shakily after a beat. My fingers trembled a little, and I gripped the edge of my desk to hide it. Shuichi's eyes flicked down and caught the movement. He missed _nothing_. "Just… tired."

"Is that so?" he queried absently.

I offered a noncommittal grunt as my answer, averting my gaze to the chalkboard, ignoring him. Because of this, there was a long silence, and then Shuichi held his hand out towards me, holding a pencil.

"You dropped this," he informed me with a slight smile, "when I ran into you yesterday."

"Oh? Huh, I didn't even notice I dropped it." I carefully took the pencil, my fingers twitching as they drew close to his. Pins and needles raced up my arm, so I plucked the pencil from his palm (without touching him) and set it into the groove at the front of my desk. The pencil felt hot, laced with a bit of that electricity from earlier. I really didn't want it back, but I offered Shuichi a wan smile because social norms dictated that I should. "Thanks, Shuichi."

"You're welcome," he replied with a brilliant and wholly innocent smile, and then he walked back to his desk and was surrounded by the girls again. A few of them gave me confused (if not heated) looks, but for the most part, they ignored me. Hikari jabbed me in the shoulder, and I turned again to look at her.

"Intense, huh?" she asked with a small smirk, trying to lighten the mood.

"What, him?" I muttered back. I shrugged. "A little. That's just his personality I suppose," I explained, hoping to sound as nonchalant as I was trying to be.

"You ran into him yesterday?" she questioned further, and I nodded.

"Yeah, literally. Knocked all of his stuff out of his hands and everything. I was headed to yearbook, you were there ahead of me." Towards the end of the day yesterday, I had learned that Hikari had made yearbook as well. I hadn't seen her in the summer program, but I had met her in the yearbook room after school. She was a reporter, and happened to be writing a bit of the article I was made to take pictures for. "You just barely missed the Great Running-Into of Shuichi and Reina," I added, grinning a little as she rolled her eyes and laughed.

Most of the day passed with nothing interesting to note, until we were all sitting in our classroom, eating lunch. While I was talking to Hikari about my family (telling her that my mother was a gymnastics instructor), Shuichi sidled over to us and pulled up an empty desk, stifling the conversation. Shuichi either didn't notice or didn't care, because he offered us both a smile and waited politely for Hikari to stop chewing before asking:

"I was wondering if I could join yearbook. Would either of you mind directing me to the editor-in-chief after school?"

No. _No_.

"Um, sure I guess," Hikari sputtered after a second of startled silence, giving me a look of "What is this black magic?" before turning in his direction. "Can't say that I remember his name, though… everyone just calls him Chief."

"Are you sure you want to work for him?" I asked quickly, hoping to deter him. Shuichi turned towards me and offered me his undivided attention. I cleared my throat a little and said: "Chief is demanding. And obnoxious. And a _very_ tiring person to be around. Nah, you don't want to work for him," I continued with a hysterical sort of snort. "All we need are copy editors and that's the most boring job out there. You don't want to do that. Trust me." I felt a strong urge to beat my head against my desk as Shuichi stared at me in a slightly worried, mostly confused sort of way. Subtle, Reina. He definitely won't notice that you're trying to distance yourself as much as humanly possible from him.

"I'm willing to give it a chance," he told me after a beat, and asked Hikari when Chief would most likely get to the yearbook room (because he had to go to his first meeting of Chess Club this afternoon). I resigned myself to spending every second of this year in Shuichi's company, at least at school.

At the end of the day, as I was getting my shoes out of my locker and putting the ones provided by Meiou up, I felt chills race up my spine and I froze on the spot.

It was later in the afternoon (I had been editing some pictures after school), so the hallway was empty when I craned my head to peer down it. I glanced once over my shoulder to make sure a teacher or hall monitor wasn't lurking somewhere close to me, and set off deeper into the school in my own shoes. They weren't nasty; the janitor could get over it.

I had been walking for a couple minutes before I realized what I was doing.

I was _following_ the tingly, nervous feeling. _Not_ running from it, like I should've been.

As soon as I realized this, I came to a complete halt and heaved an annoyed sigh. But as I turned, I caught something in my periphery, and turned back despite my better judgment.

There was a row of windows at the end of the hall, and there was movement beyond them, in the courtyard outside. I walked a little closer and cupped my hands around my face, shading the glass so I could peer through it.

Well, obviously because I had a nervous feeling of "don't go there, run away NOW" Minamino was there. Terrific.

But he was accompanied by two other people.

I squinted to see better as my stomach roiled with apprehension.

One was short. Very short, and wearing all black. The figure was possibly male—his back was turned towards me so I couldn't tell—and his hair was ridiculous. It stood vertically, but still moved a little with the breeze. Strange.

The other one was facing me.

He was a giant. Dark hair, big lips, a large flat nose and a protruding forehead. He looked exactly like a Neanderthal, especially with his wide, heavily muscled shoulders that hunched forwards a little. The man himself was a wall of muscle, capable of ripping a telephone book in half with two fingers. Or five. Telephone books, that is.

He stood there with his arms folded and a cross look on his simple features, and the other one—the one with his back towards me—looked very tense. He was making small, angry gestures with his hands.

Now for Shuichi, he was facing me. He looked very displeased, and was shaking his head. He said something, and as he did so, the giant's features contorted into a disappointed grimace. It was quite terrifying.

A jolt of electricity shot through my body, making my fingers twitch against the glass and wrenching a gasp from my lungs.

As one, Shuichi, the giant, and the short one looked straight at me. I reflexively recoiled as their gazes burned into me—the giant had the most soulless black eyes I had ever seen, and seemed to punch holes through me. The short one (who _was_, in fact, male) had _red _eyes, red like burning coals—colored contacts, had to be—and his glare was as malicious as they come.

Shuichi's gaze was cold for a split second, and it nailed me to the floor. I couldn't move. Mostly my eyes were for him—regardless of the giant's size, and the shorter one's unnatural scarlet stare—because Shuichi was the most intimidating of them all. But as I stood frozen there, his expression changed, melting into something less frightening, and he took a single step towards me, holding out his arms as if bring to make a compromise.

Another shock of electricity burned through my veins, and I flinched, stumbling backwards and almost losing my footing. The giant reared back his head and laughed, though I couldn't hear it. The short one smirked, and Shuichi turned towards him, expression reading disapproval.

I turned, and left as quickly as I could without running. As I passed my locker I opened it quickly and grabbed my gym bag, slammed it shut—and once I hit the door, I was in a flat sprint.

* * *

As I had been telling Hikari before, my mother was a gymnastics instructor. She also did a little bit of yoga on the side, but I had never been too interested in that. But from a young age, I would look up at the gymnasts whirling through the air, flipping endlessly and effortlessly, and I wanted to do that. I had always been of smaller stature, and was still a measly five foot two—that just made it easier to get into gymnastics. There was less of me, so I didn't have to work too hard to land a cartwheel.

I had lessons when I was young, and now I just paid a small gym membership fee and promised to stay out of everyone else's way. That is, the young students and their instructors. Anywhere they weren't I could go, and I did just that.

I jumped up and easily grabbed hold of the bar, swinging a little, flexing my arms to get a feel for it. Then I let go and turned, pacing back, evening out my breathing in preparation.

I turned around, and ran, jumping up, grabbing the bar, letting my momentum spin me up, out, and away. I turned a single flip and my feet came up under me, hitting the mat with a soft _slap_ of flesh against stuffing-filled vinyl.

Nailed it.

My legs trembled a little and I sighed, striding over to the balance beam and hopping up on it. I leaned down for a handstand and walked on the beam with my hands, cursing inwardly as my arms trembled. Finally they gave out and I flipped over, kneeling on the beam and sighing heavily. I rubbed my forehead and pinched the bridge of my nose. Why was I so _tired_…?

"Honey?"

I looked up to see my mom staring up at me. She was short, like me—she had only made it to five foot nothing. I smiled a bit for her benefit. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay? Have you taken a water break yet?" she pressed.

"Just about to." I hopped off the balance beam. "Where are your kiddies?"

"Laps." She smiled a tad bit sadistically. Behind her, a line of seven through twelve-year-olds were running along the wall, around the gym. "They were being rowdy. Tiring them out does wonders for my sanity."

"Yeah, I know mom—you did the same thing to me," I ribbed with a grin, and walked with her to the water fountain.

"So how was school?" she asked as I drank. "Meet any cute boys?" I spluttered and almost choked, coughing once and standing up straight to give her an incredulous stare.

"_No._ It was my second day back. I'm there to learn, not to date…" I trailed off, snorted, and shook my head, dragging an arm across my mouth to get rid of excess water.

"Meet any _interesting_ boys?" she teased, waggling her eyebrows.

I sighed heavily. Shuichi reared up in the forefront of my mind. A wry grimace snuck onto my features. "You could say that. I don't think it's a _good_ interesting, though…"

"Oh?" She sounded a little disappointed, and we both edged out of the way as a line of older children flowed around us, desperate for a drink. They were talking and laughing, so we walked away so we could hear each other.

"He's just, strange. That's all," I told her, shrugging. I looked up at the clock on the wall. "You'd better go get your kids and try to teach them something before closing, you only have half an hour." I smiled at her and gave her a hug. "I'll go home and make something for supper. Or buy something from that ramen shop. Depends on how lazy I feel when I pass it."

She laughed and hugged my back. "Alright, bye sweetie. See you then. Give your dad a hug for me and tell him I'll be home in an hour or so."

"Will do," I answered, and headed for the door.

* * *

I ended up stopping at the ramen shop, because I was tired enough to curl up on the sidewalk and sleep at that point. I spoke a little with the Yukimuras—I had a habit of stopping at their shop on the way home, so the knew exactly what to make as soon as I walked through the door—and left, eating my portion on the way home. When I arrived, I dumped the rest on the counter in the kitchen, and went to find my dad to tell him there was food to be had.

He was back in his office, working on a powerpoint presentation on the computer. My dad was a pencil pusher for the police department, promoted from active duty after my mom had me and I started getting a little older and noticing that he wasn't home. I don't think he enjoyed it as much as he enjoyed being on the force, but it paid the bills and he seemed content enough, so I guess he wasn't too disappointed with his lot.

"Hey old man," I greeted, walking through the door of his office. "Want a nasty, sweaty gymnast hug?"

"Always," he said with a chuckle, taking off his reading glasses and leaning in my direction so I could give him said hug. "How was your day?"

"Eh, it was alright," I replied with a shrug, not wanting to get into it. "I'm going up to bed. Ramen's on the counter, and mom is probably on her way home by now. Goodnight," I finished, pecked him swiftly on the forehead.

"Sleep well," he replied as I walked out of the room.

I took a quick shower and walked down to the kitchen to find my cat, fluffing my waist-length hair with my fingers so it would dry.

"Jinx! Here kitty kitty…" I peered behind the table, and there he was, sleeping where most of the sunlight would be during the day. I bent down and picked him up, earning a startled meow and subsequent purring, and headed back upstairs with the Manx in tow.

He was a tailless cat, and his particular breed's genetic defect also lengthened his back legs, so when i set him down, he bunny-hopped over to my pillow and started kneading it. I snorted and pushed him off of it, brushing his hair off of the pillowcase before setting my head down on it. He mewled in a disgruntled way and curled up at the small of my back. He fell asleep within thirty seconds, as he always did, ever since we got him seven years ago.

Though my body ached and begged for sleep, my mind was awake and wouldn't let me wind down. I tried not to toss and turn too much so I wouldn't disturb my cat, so I settled for staring at the faint glow of the streetlamp through the curtains covering my window.

There was something definitely wrong with them. Shuichi. His friends. All of them. They were about twenty yards away from me out in that courtyard and _still_ that strange sensation flooded through my body, paralyzing me.

Come to think of it, it probably had something to do with my exhaustion. I'm sure the change in my sleep schedule contributed, but those encounters with Shuichi and his strange acquaintances were draining, there was no doubt about it. I had noticed a slight decrease in my energy when I left the school earlier.

But… why? How could someone's mere presence affect me like that? And the electricity…

It wasn't natural. It wasn't right. I was going to get to the bottom of it, somehow.

I rolled over and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**So, are there any people reading who have never seen this story before? If so, I would love to hear from you, just as much as I love hearing from all the old fans. (You guys are all awesome. I'm glad you don't hate me for leaving you, hahaha XD)**

**Everyone who has read this before will notice a few big differences. Reina? Gymnastics? Yup, that just happened. :D**

**Reina, actually conversing with her parents? Her mom and dad not just hanging out on the sidelines, never mentioned EVER? That also just happened.**

**Changing it up is fun. :)**


	4. Untenable

**And here's another chapter for you guys! I'm not giving you enough time to review, hahaha XD. But thanks for reading, and review if you get a chance to. It makes me happy :D**

* * *

_"The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is."_

-Winston Churchill

Untenable

* * *

I felt terrible the next morning as well, somehow even more tired than I had been yesterday. Some part of me whispered that it was because Shuichi's friends were there, but it made no sense and I really didn't want to know what the implications of that were. So I did my best to ignore it, and went straight to school.

Just like yesterday, as soon as I walked into the room Shuichi lifted his hand in greeting; this time I nodded towards him and didn't make eye contact. I sped towards my desk and plopped down in front of Hikari, blowing out a sigh as my head throbbed. Great, so now I had a headache…?

I glanced down at my desk, and saw the pencil Shuichi had given back to me yesterday. Then I snorted once humorlessly, and shook my head.

"What?" Hikari prodded, leaning forward into my personal space. "Also, good morning!"

I turned with a smirk and an eye roll. "I just realized something."

"What?" Hikari asked, eyes lighting up with interest.

"That pencil Shuichi gave me… it isn't mine. It's his. I use mechanical, that one's wooden." I shrugged helplessly. "Not a bit deal, it just shows how out of it I've been lately…"

Her mouth popped open, and then a slow smile crept onto her features.

"I think he _likes_ you…" she whispered with a devilish grin.

I gaped at her.

"You think he likes me because he gave me his pencil." I deadpanned, lifting an incredulous eyebrow in her direction.

She lifted her hands above her head. "I just think he used the pencil as an excuse to come over here and talk to you!" she explained, and though what she said was slightly more reasonable, she was still wearing an impish grin.

"I don't understand why he would seek me out specifically… he probably just dropped his own pencil and gave it back, thinking it was mine," I said, rolling my eyes. "No ulterior motives. I was just making an observation."

"He would _seek you out specifically_ because he likes you, Reina," she stage whispered.

"Oh, hush," I said—not unkindly—with a small chuckle. "This is getting ridiculous."

At that moment our math teacher decided to walk in through the door, just as the bell rang. So, rolling my eyes at Hikari one last time, I turned and faced the front of the room, folding my arms on my desk.

A spark of static electricity made me jerk my hand back towards me, my eyes going wide.

That pencil…

I stared at it for a moment, then glanced around. Shuichi was busily taking notes at my right, two rows over, one seat up. I bit the inside of my lip and looked back down at the innocent Ticonderoga.

I lifted a finger, and poked it.

A visible jolt of electricity sparked as my finger made contact with the pencil, and I jerked my hand back, sticking my finger in my mouth. It didn't hurt really, it was just an unpleasant sensation.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shuichi's head swivel in my direction rather quickly.

I tried not to look at him, and surveyed the damage.

There was a black charred mark on the side of the pencil—it was smoking a bit. I wet my finger and pressed it to the mark in wonder. It made the tiniest hiss and stopped smoking. I wiped my finger off on the inside of my skirt and rolled the pencil over so the damage wasn't exposed.

Now it didn't feel weird. Huh. I poked it again for good measure. Nope, just a normal pencil now. Not that I was complaining, but… why…?

I puzzled over it for a smaller part of the hour, and then shook it off and paid attention to the tail end of the lecture.

* * *

The rest of the week passed with no consequence. Everyone went home with only a little homework and warnings that there was much more to come. I finished mine within an hour of getting home on Friday, and relaxed for the rest of the weekend. All I did was go to lunch with Hikari at the Yukimura's ramen shop on Saturday and go to the gym on Sunday with my mom.

And then week two of my high school education began.

Shuichi started yearbook that week, and was—as I had predicted—a copy editor, checking articles for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. And with all the clubs starting up, I was staying later every other day, taking pictures and giving then to the reporting department to collaborate.

One of Shuichi's jobs was to make sure the quota of pictures per page was met, and he came to bug me after school almost every day. So now his job was to annoy me, basically. Lovely.

"Reina, was it your turn to cover the Biology club Tuesday? The article I'm editing doesn't have any pictures…"

Stuff like that. And even more ridiculous:

"Reina, I'm not quite sure how I should word this sentence. Perhaps a fresh set of eyes…"

Really? Really? Godchild, top of his class, nothing but perfect scores _Minamino_ for crying out loud! I could do _nothing _to correct his syntax errors, because they simply didn't exist.

And then, the worst:

"Reina, what are you doing this weekend?"

I paused in the middle of looking for my camera's connection cord, and slowly turned to look at him.

"Um," I said intelligently. "Er, why?"

He smiled a gorgeous smile, you had to give him that. "I was wondering if you wanted to walk around… waste time. With me." He held the smile and waited.

"I…" I looked around desperately, and spotted Hikari, who was within earshot. Her mouth was wide open in stunned awe. Well, crap. That's going to be an interesting conversation. "Maybe another time. My family…" I looked back at him. "Yeah. My family. Spending time with them." As a second thought, I added a smile that hopefully didn't look too forced.

"Ah," he replied, not looking too crestfallen. He fixed me with a wry smile. "I understand. Yes, a rain check will do." And then he walked off to his computer, and sat back down while I remained there, frozen.

* * *

In short, Hikari's interrogation was excruciating.

Firstly, she maledicted that Shuichi had "For sure!" asked me out, and I had to explain on several occasions that that was not the case. At all. Nada. Never.

...But it didn't dissuade her. In the slightest.

"He asked you if you were doing anything over the _weekend_." She said, rolling her eyes as if the topic was a simple concept that I surely should be able to grasp. "All the girls in the school would _kill_ for him to ask them that, and he asks you," She threw me a disbelieving look, "over everyone else. You're totally ungrateful, and you'd better take him up on that rain check. I'll be mad if you don't"

"Am I supposed to be insulted, Hikari?" I asked amusedly. "I mean… last week, it was all "He's so stuck-up, he's a player," etc, and _now_ you're telling me I should go out with him. On a _not_-date," I added.

"Maybe you can change him," she said with a wide gesture. "Change his ways. Make him a better man…"

"That's over your pay grade, dear," I teased, nudging her. "C'mon, drop it. I'll take him up on his offer next weekend if that makes you happy, as utterly _excruciating_ as that sounds…"

"You _have_ to enjoy yourself, Reina! Or it doesn't count."

"No promises."

* * *

The remainder of the most stressful week of my life (thus far) passed slowly... agonizingly... but passed.

On Friday, everyone left school joyously, running out of the building to go home, or to the movies and/or arcade. I grabbed my gym bag and headed to the gym.

There was a crowd of Friday afternoon traffic that I had to wade through, but it wasn't too bad. I hiked my backpack a little bit higher up on my back, and clutched my gym bag to my chest.

Suddenly, like an arrow to the heart, there was the fire again.

I balked and the crowd swept past me like a stream around a rock, and I surveyed my surroundings carefully.

Nothing.

I walked a little bit faster the rest of the way, and was a little short of breath when I got to the gym. I headed straight for the locker room and changed out of my uniform, hanging it up in my locker. I put on a leotard and, after a second, my light jacket as well—I felt cold. I pulled on my shorts as well when goosebumps traveled up my thighs.

I leaned against one of the sinks and stared at my reflection. Blue eyes in a pale, worried face stared back.

"You're okay," I told myself. I ran some warm water and splashed it over my face. Holy, I was _freezing_… "Just… go have a look. There's nothing there. Go. Do it."

I shoved my bag into my locker, put my key in my pocket, and strode purposefully out into the gym, past a class of twelve girls and two boys, and out the door, yanking my hair into a ponytail as I did so.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I suddenly felt very tired, and sighed. I went back inside, got some money, and headed to the nearest convenience store.

I leaned against the facade of the store, finishing up my granola bar, and people watched.

Slowly, the fire ran up my arms and legs, and congealed in a knot in my chest. My hand automatically went up to my heart, and I looked more closely at the crowd.

Alright, getting _out_ of here. I threw the remains of my granola bar into a nearby trashcan, and started walking—not to the gym, not home, nowhere in particular really. Just away from the strange burning sensation.

I glanced over my shoulder and my heart stopped.

Shuichi's friend was behind me, a little ways off. The big one.

And as he saw me spot him, a slow smile crept onto his features.

I turned away and quickened my pace.

* * *

**Shuichi's POV**

I was quite sure she had never come this way before. A week ago, when I had met her and she first had that strange reaction to my presence, I had followed her to a gym to see if she was any threat to my operation. She was going in the opposite direction now, and certainly not heading home; that was to the east.

She had come from the gym I was assuming; she was wearing a sleeved leotard with a light workout jacket, and gym shorts. She didn't look as if she had stayed there long—it was as if she gone there to change her clothes, and leave.

The expression on her face was worrisome, and with good reason.

Reina strode swiftly, nervously, face stony and anxious at the same time. She was either trying to hide her fear from others, or denying that she was afraid, that there was nothing to be afraid of.

She should be afraid.

Gouki matched her frantic pace, twenty feet behind her.

I stepped out into the flow of the crowd, and trailed silently behind them.

* * *

**Reina's POV**

Now I knew.

This... _thing_... this acquaintance of Shuichi's, was definitely following me. I had taken turn after random turn, and he was still there.

_Don't panic, _I advised myself, yet again.

I wasn't exactly sure where I was going; the flames scorching through me and my fear were making my head spin in a dizzying and confusing way.

I was gradually walking into a secluded part of town. I walked for several minutes and saw no one. Only the peeling walls of abandoned buildings. Occasionally there was a parked car, but no one was outside.

No. No, no, _no_...

Then I turned a corner, and hesitated for a split second. No one was around. I was in a deserted alleyway. At the other end, a chain link fence. Crap.

There was a building on my left that looked like an apartment complex. There was a rusty fire escape clinging precariously to the side of the brick wall. Most of the ladder was pulled up, but if I jumped…

"You can't run, girl." A throaty growl called out to me.

I whirled around and watched in numb terror as he lumbered closer. I began backing away.

"S- stay _back_." I tried not to look behind me at the fire escape. I could grab the last rung and pull it down, then climb up. I would have to do it very quickly...

He laughed but didn't even hesitate. His eyes glinted in anticipation as he grew closer.

_Anticipation for what...?_! My mind thought, panicked. My throat was dry. There was a dull burning sensation building in my chest, growing stronger as he walked closer. And then he paused, and studied me.

Wildfire burned through my veins, taking my breath away.

This can't be real.

He paused ten or so feet away from me, then grinned menacingly.

"Fear." He rumbled, voice caressing the word. He eyed me hungrily. "A soul steeped in mouthwatering _fear_..."

I backed up further.

He was too close.

I whirled and ran.

In a few seconds I had reached the fire escape. I sprinted at the wall, leaping and planting my foot against the brick, three feet up, for leverage. It gave me just enough height to grab the last rung.

I swung from the ladder for one gut-wrenching second. _Shit_, it was rusted together. It wasn't coming down, I was wasting time—

I swung my legs out to gain some momentum, and started clawing up the ladder.

Too late.

Because I was wearing workout shorts, my calf and ankle were bare as his massive hand closed around my right leg.

It felt like everything from the knee down exploded into flames.

I screamed a wordless scream at first, and then cried for help—the man cursed and recoiled, dragging me off of the fire escape. I fell backwards, bouncing against his chest and rolling off. I stumbled halfway to my feet and made a desperate bid for freedom—

—His arm came out and swept my legs out from under me; my arms barely had enough time to come up and protect my face as I fell. I hit the ground hard and scrambled to get away from him.

"HELP!" I screamed. "SOMEBODY, _HELP ME!"_ I felt his hand close around my shoe this time, obviously he hadn't liked the electric shock. "Shit, _NO_!" I jerked my foot out of my sneaker, and he cursed as I gathered the breath needed to scream again.

"Shut up, bitch," he snarled, and he flipped me over in one effortless motion.

His breath blew—hot and rancid—into my face, and his hands closed around my upper arms. He stood, holding me, and my feet kicked helplessly several feet in the air. I could only struggle hopelessly as he leered into my face. My sleeves protected me from his touch, but I felt like I was on a pyre.

"Pathetic," he growled with a horrible grin.

Wordlessly, I kicked him in his nether-regions. He let out a roar of pain and I slipped slightly from his grasp, but he tightened it before I could wriggle free.

"Gouki!" someone shouted. "_Don't_…!"

With one last outraged snarl, my attacker cast me aside effortlessly.

I felt myself hit the brick wall, and then everything went black.

* * *

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**That's right. It's your first (and certainly not your last) cliffhanger. ;D**


	5. Confessions

**Yay! Another chapter! This one I didn't have to write completely, just edit. It's still a monster-over 6,000 words!**

**Thank you _Shadow Ice Maiden, Yargy the Pirate Queen, bijouie, _and _Moldy Strawberry _for reviewing!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_"O nature, what hadst thou to do in hell_

_When thou didst bower the spirit of a fiend?"_

_Romeo and Juliet, Act 3, Scene 2_

Confessions

* * *

I was vaguely aware that I should be dead by now.

But, somehow, my attacker's gravelly voice snarled above me. Didn't harm me.

"I didn't _do_ anything yet, Kurama. You can hear her pathetic heart beating, can't you? Though the little wench deserves to be dead..."

I was just barely holding onto my consciousness.

"What happened, Gouki? Don't touch her."

_Wait._ My mind thought sluggishly. _That voice..._

"The human _fucking_ electrocuted me, that's what. Out of my way... the bitch is _mine_."

There was the quiet report of several footsteps in front of me. "Wait. Hiei's on his way."

A rush of wind, a muted thump. I wanted to look at the new arrival, but my eyes wouldn't seem to open. Besides, if I could open them, I could use that tiny reserve of energy for something more practical... like getting the hell out of here.

"Why did you call me here, Kurama?" A bored voice said. "It's just a human. Kill it and be done with it."

I tried not to tense up noticeably when they said that, hoping that if I _played_ dead, they wouldn't kill me.

My _God_, it was so hot… the temperature had increased tenfold with the arrival of the newcomer. Something deep inside me twitched weakly, uncomfortably, at their presence.

I was so tired.

"We can't," the calmest voice said. That _voice_… "I called you so I could let you know something. It's too much of a risk to take, killing this girl—or _any_ human, for that matter. Reikai has sent a detective after us—we need to be more cautious."

Gouki let out an angry sort of laugh, and the new one—Hiei?—snorted in derision.

The one vouching for my life—Kurama… his voice was dangerously quiet—close, too. Somewhere near my head. I couldn't pinpoint it exactly. My head was burning dully, spinning...

"We need to council before I _eat?_ One little human won't be missed. Move out of my way, fox, before I eat _you..."_

_None of this makes sense. But I can't be dreaming. I taste blood on my tongue. My head hurts too much for me to be dead... What's going on...?_ I tried to move my fingers. Nothing.

Slowly, I started putting pieces together.

"Think, Gouki." _His_ voice said with forced calm. "If she hurt you just by _touching _you, think of what her soul would do to your stomach..."

There was a moment of tense silence. "The human didn't hurt me." Gouki growled. But he fell silent.

"Kurama, do you mean to say that this utterly _weak_ human has spiritual powers?" The bored voice said indifferently.

"I... cannot be certain. But that's what it seems like."

Impossibly, the burning in my head grew in intensity. White-hot flames licked the inside of my skull, scrambling what was left of my thoughts. A strangled moan escaped my carefully constructed façade, and _his_ voice said sharply,

"Stop, Hiei."

The incredible wildfire lingered, then faded into a dull ache. "You may be right, Kurama." The voice—Hiei—said haughtily. "But her power is pitiful, at best..."

_Power...? What are they talking about...?_

Now the burning moved to my throat. I felt the lightest touch brush it, then I twitched convulsively as an electric current ran through me, searing the point. Whatever touched my neck recoiled instantly.

"You can't even check the girl's pulse without killing her yourself." Hiei observed.

"I know." Kurama's (Kurama's. Just Kurama's. _Please._) voice sounded frustrated. "But I have to get her home..."

I heard a low, throaty growl respond in protest, but nothing else.

There was a long silence. "Perhaps it is just skin contact…" I felt something brush my sleeve. Fire, burning. But no shock, no immediate drain on my energy. Kurama made a small noise of approval. "Good."

I was being lifted gingerly against something. Heat coursed through my veins, but it was bearable. I tried to stay limp.

"You're going to need to erase her memory, Kurama." Hiei muttered.

"I can't do that. It's not as simple as last time." _He_ sighed, weary. "The plant's demonic. It would kill her... and we've been seen together publicly... so it wouldn't be wise. I'll take care of it."

"Hn." Hiei said disapprovingly.

The last dregs of energy I had left were draining out of me.

"Besides, she's unconscious. She'll remember getting attacked yes, but she'll wake up at home and count herself lucky. Of course, she won't remember how she got there, but you must lose some battles to win the war."

I worked hard to keep my eyes closed, face blank. It wasn't hard. I was nearly gone.

There was a long pause.

"Gouki. I trust you won't attack her again," _he_ said, in a low, somewhat intimidating voice.

Gouki grunted. "Fine."

"Good," Shuichi replied simply.

I let go of the ledge I was clinging to, and drifted.

* * *

I woke up fully dressed, in my own bed at home.

I shot into a sitting position and looked around quickly. No, he wasn't here. He had brought me here and left. Judging from the amount of light filtering through the curtains, it was early morning.

I knew I wasn't insane. I looked at the floor next to my bed, and saw my gym bag and backpack. Neatly placed upon my gym bag was the key to my locker. I felt cold.

I swung my legs off of the bed and gingerly rose to my feet. I was aching from head to toe from the attack yesterday… Gouki was his name. My attacker that is. The person who saved me was called Kurama. The other one was… Hiei. I struggled to recall the details, but only one detail really mattered…

Kurama.

I knew it was Shuichi, though. I knew it. That voice… no one else had that kind of collected calm. No one else had that kind of quiet intimidation. I knew that Minamino Shuichi and this Kurama person were one and the same.

I went to the bathroom and took a shower after popping twice the suggested dose of pain pills.

But what did that mean? What could his double life possibly mean? Why was he doing it, and why was he hanging out with people who thought it wasn't a big deal to just _kill_ people…

Kill _humans_, they had said. They had made that distinction. As if setting themselves apart...

My thoughts swirled. I didn't know what to think.

There was no difference when I left for school Monday.

I felt like a zombie as I trudged to my locker.

"Alright, Reina?"

I cringed as he touched my shoulder, recognizing the ebbing burn, then looked slowly up at him. I wondered what I looked like. I didn't even want to think about it.

"Not really." I mumbled truthfully.

Shuichi frowned concernedly. "What's wrong?"

"Just tired, I guess." I worked to sound nonchalant. I edged away from him. "See you around."

"Alright." He said vaguely, studying my expression with a troubled frown. I averted my gaze and walked away, though it was too early for class.

Later, during our break, we worked on the yearbook. Apparently, Chief had graciously decided to give us a break from the after-school sessions—at least for a little while—as long as we were willing to give up our break in the middle of the day. It was preferable.

I slyly slipped into the seat next to Hikari. In my peripheral, I could see Shuichi furtively throwing me the Look as he sat alone at his computer. I kept my eyes trained on my monitor, and didn't speak. Hikari quickly gave up on small talk when I didn't contribute anything besides the occasional nod, and settled into a confused and somewhat hurt silence. I would have to make it up to her later.

For some reason, between classes when everyone had to go get their books, I saw much more of Shuichi in the hallways. As if I didn't see him enough during class. Getting water from the water fountain, tying his shoelace—the situations varied. I skirted the other side of the hallway and ignored him as best as I could.

* * *

When the last bell rang, he was waiting for me by my locker, a pensive frown on his face.

He moved out of my way silently as I went to put my books away, but stayed close enough for the burn to make itself known in my veins. With an irritated sigh, I slammed my locker shut, yanked my backpack over my shoulder, and rounded on him.

"Why're you following me?" I demanded.

Shuichi showed how startled he was at my outburst by lifting a single eyebrow.

I wasn't gracious enough to be cowed. "You've been… around… all day. Stop it."

He smiled a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. "We have the same class Reina, didn't you know?"

"Don't be a smartass," I hissed as the last couple of students trickled out the door past us. "You _know_ what I'm talking about. I don't know why you're doing it—though you certainly do—I just know that it's annoying and you need to _stop it_."

He tilted his head a little as if to study me from another angle, and braced his hand on the lockers, leaning a tad bit closer. Naturally, I recoiled.

"Do I make you uncomfortable, Reina?" he asked amiably, albeit in a low voice. His eyes looked a little too serious for me to accept his teasing tone. I narrowed my eyes.

"Yes, you do," I replied promptly.

"Bad day?"

"You could say that," I muttered, breaking eye contact as my heart throbbed disjointedly, remembering the events of last weeken—

"—How about your weekend?" Well, god_damn_ it. I glanced up at him quickly. All traces of his teasing were gone. He was being completely serious now.

"Worse," I whispered. Some emotion I couldn't pinpoint passed briefly over his face.

"Oh?" He looked concerned. I wondered if it was just an act. "What happened?"

Oh, screw it. I was just going to tell him _exactly _what happened last Friday, and tell him I knew he was there. Wipe the faux worry off his face. Call him out, make _him_ squirm for once.

If it wasn't him there yesterday and I imagined everything—he would think I was a freak for accusing him and leave me alone. If he admitted that he was there that day, then I got the satisfaction of shocking him. And then maybe, just maybe, he would tell me _what the hell was going on_.

Win-win situation.

_But… what if he's dangerous?_ my mind whispered. _His friends certainly are… one attacked you, the other had no qualms about killing you… and there's just something _wrong_ with all of them. They kept talking about humans as if they weren't—_

I cut off that train of thought and went for it.

"Oh, nothing much," I said casually. "Just almost getting _killed_ by this guy that was so massive he couldn't possibly be human—oh, he was talking about freaking _eating_ my soul too, so that was terrific…" I heard my voice getting louder and more hysterical with every word, and fought it down as Shuichi's expression became more wary.

"And then I blacked out, and when I woke _up_, he and some other guy were standing over me, arguing over whether or not they were going to kill me, and then someone else showed up, and he cast his vote in favor of killing me, the _human_ as he put it… which sounded very much like an insult to me… But how could that possibly be right, Shuichi?" He certainly looked very uncomfortable. Good.

"He was walking and talking like a normal person, which would make _him_ a human too, right…?" The question was rhetorical, and he didn't answer.

Shuichi's eyes widened a fraction though, and then his expression turned dark. The coldness in his gaze made my breath hitch a little, but once I recovered, I continued:

"And the only one who wanted to _not_ kill me was named Kurama. The other two were Gouki and Hiei. So, Shuichi, you tell me—what kind of _nickname_ is Kurama, and exactly what kind of _crowd_ are you running with these days?" I finished, and glared up at him.

He lost the dangerous stare, and traded it for one of innocence. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Reina."

"Like _hell_ you don't, _Kurama_," I snarled. "Don't even try that. I _know_ what I heard."

We had a staring contest for several seconds, and then he sighed heavily.

"I see that there is no convincing you otherwise. Fair enough. Will you follow me somewhere more… private so I can explain?"

_Holy shit, I was right…! _"What, changing your mind?" I asked, recoiling a few steps away. "You're going to kill me now too…?" I didn't know if I liked being right.

"Don't be absurd," he murmured, watching my retreat with calculating eyes. "_No_, I am not going to kill you, and if you honestly believe that you'll make it out that door without me catching you first, you are sadly mistaken."

My hand froze on the door handle. "I can try."

"You will fail," he returned without batting an eye. He raised a hand in my direction, holding it out to me. "Please. Do not make this any more difficult than it has to be."

"Why should I trust you?" I shot back, fingers tightening on the handle. My heart was pounding painfully, pumping adrenaline through my veins. "Sure, you saved me, but there's a lot of things I don't know about you that probably trump that."

"I'm not asking you to trust me." He started walking towards me, slowly. "_I_ wouldn't trust me if I were in your position. However, I _am _assuming that you want answers. Am I mistaken?"

I considered that. "Well… no," I replied hesitantly. "But I don't want to go _anywhere_ alone with you."

"I'm afraid that's the only choice you have at this point, Reina."

I considered that even more, weighing my options. How fast could he be, really?

I stared at him, saw how calm and menacing he looked at the same time, and something inside me just gave up. He could be as fast as he wanted to be. I knew I was trapped.

"Alright, fine," I huffed, releasing the handle and taking a few steps towards him. "Against my better judgement, _fine_. But stay at least five feet away from me at all times. Got it?"

"Of course," he replied courteously, walking towards me and pausing. "I _would_ get the door for you if there wasn't a restraining order…"

"Ha, ha," I said sourly, and opened the door. "Lead the way."

* * *

"Where are we going?" I asked, trailing a little ways behind him as we walked.

"The hospital," he replied, not even glancing over his shoulder.

I walked in silence for a little ways. "If you don't look at me when you talk to me, how would you know whether or not I just made a break for it?"

"I have my ways," Shuichi—Kurama?—replied, not looking at me again.

I was confident that I believed him, and that didn't make me feel safe at all. Speaking of which…

"How did you know where I lived Friday?" I asked suspiciously. "You carried me home, I'm assuming. _And _you got my gym bag from the gym. How did you know where _that_ was? And just _how_ exactly did you get _inside_ my house…?" Horror started to set in. "Holy, this is insane…"

"I followed you home the first Tuesday of school—you didn't go to the gym that day—I also followed you the day before when you did in fact go to the gym; the key to your locker in the gym was in your pocket, and there is a spare key to your house behind the loose siding to the right of your front door. Your family does not have an alarm system. Perhaps you should invest in one if you're worried about intruders." He turned and looked at me, raising an eyebrow at my terrified expression. "You asked, and here is your eye contact you were inquiring about earlier, Reina."

"Oh. My God." I stopped in my tracks. There weren't many people around; we had been cutting through a wide alleyway when I popped the question(s). "I _definitely_ don't want to go with you. Anywhere."

"I have several good reasons to explain why I did the things that I did," he said quietly, studying me carefully.

"I have several good reasons to explain why I should get the _hell_ out of here and alert the authorities of your stalkerish tendencies," I whimpered.

"Reina, listen…" He breathed a heavy sigh and kneaded his brow. "Let me check on my mother and then I will explain. Everything. I swear it."

I frowned in confusion. "Your mother?"

"That's why we are going to the hospital. She's very sick."

"Oh." I worked that over, feeling some pity for him that was mostly eclipsed by how disturbed I was. "I… well, I'm sorry about that. I'm still very, very creeped out right now, though."

"That's quite understandable, Reina." He offered me a kind, if somewhat strained, smile. "But take some solace in this: would you rather I had left you in the alleyway with Gouki?"

"Well I…" I paused, and frowned. "Of course not, but I don't like the fact that you _stalked_ me beforehand…"

"I will explain. Please try to give me the benefit of the doubt for now." He looked me straight in the eye. "Please."

"Alright," I said grudgingly, and followed him out the alleyway.

* * *

I rose from my chair in the hallway as Shuichi exited the room his mother was staying in. He walked over to me.

"Would you be greatly opposed to doing me a favor?" he asked.

"Depends."

"My mother…" he sighed, looking worn out from his visit, "she… worries about me. She thinks that I am giving up my social life at school to be at her side. Will you come say hello to her, to alleviate her concern?"

"Oh. Um, sure." I glanced at the door. "I don't mind. I don't want to wear her out, though…"

"She's already tired, it will be a short affair."

"Okay." I followed him to the room, and walked in behind him as he opened the door.

"Hello again mother. This is Reina. Reina, this is my mother, Minamino Shiori."

I mustered a small smile and waved at the pale, thin woman on the bed.

Her gaunt features lost their sharp edges as she saw me. Her face lit up, and she smiled brightly, pushing herself up into a siting position. "Shuichi, I didn't know you brought a friend. How nice." She looked genuinely happy. "It's wonderful to meet you, Reina."

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs.—"

"—Just Shiori," she corrected with a thin laugh. She coughed, a horrible racking cough, and Shuichi rushed to her side, pouring her some water from a plastic pitcher at her side.

"You make such a fuss, Shuichi," she murmured as she took a drink. She handed the glass over to Shuichi and smiled again at me. "Thank you for coming to see me, Reina. I'm so glad Shuichi has made some friends."

"You're welcome," I said lightly. "It's no trouble at all."

She nodded sleepily, and started to drift off. Shuichi touched her shoulder.

"You need your rest. I will be back later tonight, okay mother?"

She nodded, and Shuichi ushered me out the door.

"I hope you feel better, Mrs.—I mean, Shiori," I offered as we walked away.

"Thank you…" she whispered, and fell asleep.

* * *

Shuichi led me to the roof of the hospital. A doctor (ironically) was up there smoking, but he put out his cancer stick and left shortly after we arrived, sparing us a single glance before disappearing down below.

"So I've decided…" I said hesitantly, "that someone who cares about his mom _that_ much can't be _completely_ terrible, but I would still like an explanation."

"That is why we're here," Shuichi (Kurama) said, and turned towards me, crossing his arms.

"Do you have any other particular questions, or would you like me to answer your earlier ones and go from there?"

"Questions first," I said nodding. "Definitely. So, why were you following me?"

"That requires a bit of backstory as well," he warned, and continued:

"There are two kinds of humans that inhabit this world, Reina. Regular humans, and humans with psychic powers. You happen to belong to the latter grouping."

I snorted. "I'm a psychic? You know, Shuichi—Kurama—I don't see the future."

"That isn't your particular psychic affinity, so naturally you don't," he replied matter-of-factly. "If I may…"

He reached out and took hold of my arm before I could stop him, and lifted his hand to mine. Not touching, but close enough so that it burned. I flinched and he let me go, quirking a wry smile.

"_That_ is your psychic power. A defense of sorts."

"A defense against what, exactly?" I asked suspiciously, staring at him carefully.

"Demons," he replied simply.

I gaped at him.

"Reina, how... superstitious... are you, exactly...?"

"Not very," I replied quickly. "I was taught that there was a heaven, a hell, angels and demons—but I never really believed it. I'm not sure I do now." I swallowed nervously, and looked at my hand.

"So… you're saying that you're a demon?"

"Sort of."

"How can you _sort of_ be a demon?" I shot back. I lifted my hands to the sky. "It doesn't make sense!"

"Allow me to explain."

I waited.

"My name is Kurama." He said finally. "For centuries, I existed as Youko—a demon." Before I could stop myself, my hand jumped convulsively to my throat as I stared at him, wide-eyed. He didn't seem to notice. "I resided in the Demon World for some time, then reverted to spirit form to travel to the Spirit World—Reikai. There, I ran afoul of a bounty hunter... and I could not recover on my own. Shifting into human form... possessing a body... it was beyond me."

His gaze cleared, and he raised an eyebrow at my slightly nauseated expression, silently asking if he should continue. I nodded once, jerkily, eyes wide on his face.

"I abandoned my body and escaped to this world—Ningenkai—the human world. Then I sought out an escape, a safe place to hide and recover."

"You found one." I guessed in little more than a whisper.

He nodded, staring in the general direction of my feet. "Yes. Inside my mother... inside her unborn child—before it obtained a proper soul." He added tactfully onto the end. "I would bide my time, and in ten years or so I would get my powers back, and return to my former life."

"But you didn't." I observed.

"No."

I waited. He looked up, gaze intense, wondering.

"It should have been... impossible... but..." He frowned, searching for the right words. "My mother... she never suspected. Such blind trust, even though my deceit was so carefully masked... staggered... me, and I don't think I ever really planned on leaving."

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Then, one day, I realized that I couldn't... simply couldn't—leave her. I was a son who loved his mother... nothing more, nothing less."

The silence lengthened, and we glanced away from each other—me so I could collect myself, my thoughts, my emotions, him so he could think back on what he just said. Or so I guessed.

"Alright," I said finally. "But that still doesn't explain why you were following me."

He smiled ruefully. "Ah. Yes. Well, in my former life, I was a demon thief. Greedy. Cunning. Naturally that changed when I was reborn in this world and met my mother. However, I have had to revert to my old ways…"

He trailed off into pensive silence, and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I have an artifact that I recently stole from the Spirit World. It grants one wish at the full moon… which is three days from now. I will use that wish to save my mother's life.

"Reikai is not pleased with the fact that I stole this object, of course. They have sent a detective after me—and my accomplices who stole other artifacts as well, for their own means. One of my comrades had the pleasure of meeting you last week." I snorted, and he offered a small smile. "I had to make sure that you were not working for Reikai, so I followed you. You did not meet up with the detective—you lived a normal life. So I was satisfied.

"But now I have a question for you," he continued seriously. He looked me straight in the eye. "Can you control your power?"

I snorted. "Nope. I didn't even know what it was until now. Every time you or one of your friends gets close, it…" I struggled for the right word, "_burns_. Like fire. And like when you touched me the first day, it _shocks _me. Like lightning."

"Actually, it shocks _me_," he said with a small laugh. "It is more annoying than anything, though. It isn't powerful enough to harm me. But your aura… repels all things demonic. At the same time though, it draws my kind like moths to a light… is this the first time you noticed your power?"

"The first time I ever noticed it was the first day of school when I met you in the hall," I affirmed, nodding. I frowned. "I don't like the sound of attracting demons though… sorry. You're alright I guess, but your friend Gouki… I mean, even Hiei seems like a… character."

He chuckled a little at that. "Because your spiritual energy attacks demonic energy, it is very noticeable. Your aura is like a lighthouse for demons. Your encounter with Gouki will _not_ be the last run-in you will have with a demon."

"Well that sounds like _fun_," I said sarcastically. "But, hang on—what is this about Demon World? I'm confused. Just how many worlds are there? Also," I continued, interrupting him as he began to answer me, "Spiritual energy? Auras? What're those?"

"There are three worlds," he explained. "The Demon World—Makai, the Human World—Ningenkai, and the Spirit World—Reikai. Makai is where my kind resides. Ningenkai is the world we are standing in right now, and Reikai is, essentially, heaven." He drew a breath. "Every human has spiritual energy, a current of energy from their soul that runs through their body. Demons have demonic energy. However, when there is an excess of spiritual energy in a human… that's what makes psychics. They are usually born, not made."

"So that makes you… a demon-human hybrid?" I guessed.

"Essentially, yes."

I mulled over that for the better part of a minute. "Well… it's all very… well, it's a lot to take in."

"You believe me?" he asked, sounding more than a little shocked. He smiled a little uncertainly. "If so, you're taking this very well. No hysterics, nothing more than a quickened pulse and erratic breathing," he mused, and I stared at him.

"It's creepy that you can tell," I said after a beat of somewhat disturbed silence.

"We demons have heightened senses," he explained. He made a sweeping gesture in my direction. "And your power attracts quite a bit of my attention… It's difficult _not_ to notice. I could try to be less observant if you would prefer that," he added with a slight grin.

"Please and thank you," I replied, returning the grin, accompanied by an eyeroll.

* * *

"So, something you said earlier is bothering me," I said between bites of my egg roll.

Shuichi and I were walking back to my house; we had both been hungry so we stopped to get some food, and were eating our portions on the way. He had offered to pay for mine, but I refused.

"Hm?" he prodded.

"When we were talking about my power, you said that when I shocked you, it was 'more annoying than anything.' So that means I don't even hurt you—at all—when I _black out_ from the effort?" I smirked a little. "It's kind of insulting."

"You want to hurt me?" He asked teasingly, pausing in the middle of the sidewalk. His eyes were worried though. "And I didn't know that you blacked out..."

"Yes, I do." I muttered, ego bruised. "The first day... when you brushed my hand...? Out for the rest of the afternoon. And of course I don't want to hurt you." I rolled my eyes. "It's just... my ego just took a hit... so I don't hurt you _at all?"_

"Well, it _is_ uncomfortable." He grinned. "But more annoying than anything." I sighed at the familiar statement, gagging my complaints with the rest of my egg roll. I tossed the wrapper into a nearby garbage can.

Shuichi started walking again, and I tried to match his pace. "But the fatigue... that's not good. Are you sure that your gift was the cause of it...?"

"I'm sure." I said. "It would be nice to know that this... defense... is actually worth something. But all it does is annoy demons and make me pass out. It's worthless."

"No, it isn't completely worthless." He insisted, and smiled kindly down at me. "It startled Gouki when he attacked you, giving me enough time to get there and help you."

"Maybe so." I admitted grudgingly. "But it would be great if I could fry a demon like that..."

He kept smiling, down at me, then shook his head, chuckled, and looked away.

I sighed. "What?" I could tell something was off.

"Nothing, really." Kurama said conversationally. "It's just... I'm on the same level as Gouki, and if you could incinerate him..."

I understood. "Well, I would just keep my distance." I said, as if it were obvious. Then I frowned, realizing. "I might have to anyway." I said quietly.

He voiced what I was thinking. "You're right." He looked unhappy about it. "Because... if it goes too far... it may kill you."

I nodded mutely. "So this is goodbye?"

He seemed startled at this revelation. "No, I don't think so." He said, lifting an eyebrow. "Maybe there's a way to control it that we haven't thought of yet… also, your talent might cause some members of the demon population to get disgruntled... it wouldn't be wise for you to go anywhere without some sort of protection."

I cringed inwardly at his words—true, straight to the point. Some of my horror must've shown on my face, because he fixed me with a reassuring look and said, "But of course I would protect you. I just hope I never have to."

"Me too." I said. It made sense. Then something occurred to me. "Um, Shui—Kur—what do I call you?" I finished distractedly, annoyed. That wasn't my real question; it was just a heck of a lot more annoying.

"Whatever you want." He said generously. "But I would prefer that you call me Shuichi around my mother and at school... to avoid unnecessary complications." He smiled. "Now... I have a feeling that that wasn't your question..."

"It wasn't." I affirmed. "What I was going to ask was... and of course you can't be positive..." he waited patiently for me to finish. "But my... defense, as you call it—does it put out more energy when it's focus is stronger...? Like you, for example." I clarified. "You're a higher class of demon I'm guessing, so would that mean that my defense would automatically compensate for it...?"

He frowned slightly, thinking it over. "Yes, I suppose you're right." He said finally. "It makes sense... and, with that said, I have a proposition for you." He smirked.

"Proposition?" I asked cautiously.

"You'll see." He said, staring out into the setting sun.

"After all, tomorrow is another day." He glanced down at me, smiling faintly. "Go on in." He said. "Your parents will probably be wondering where you are... and I need to get back to mine."

I started slightly as I realized that we were at my house already. I hadn't noticed that we had stopped walking. That bothered me—I wasn't usually that absentminded.

"Oh. Well, see you around, then..." I said, backing towards my house, the tenor of my voice making the words a question. He nodded once.

"Yes, tomorrow," he replied and chuckled once, quietly at some joke I didn't want to bother asking about. He nodded to himself and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

He paused and turned around, lifting an eyebrow in my direction.

"Thank you for taking the time out to tell me… everything," I said. "You didn't have to tell me anything really—especially with everything else that's happening to you. So I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," he returned with a smile. "No, I didn't have to tell you—you were already jumping to your own conclusions—but I felt that it was necessary to do so, for reasons I'll keep to myself." He grinned, and I sighed.

"_More_ secrets?" I asked.

He nodded, losing the smirk and sobering up. "There may come a day when I won't be here to protect you. You need to be careful and keep yourself safe as best as you can, Reina. Now that you know what kind of danger to be wary of, you'll do a good job of it—of that, I'm sure."

"Oh." I scuffed the toe of my right sneaker against the sidewalk. "Well, I'll do my best. Don't skip town just yet though—you aren't as bad as I thought you were. You're actually kind of a good person, Kurama," I finished with a smile.

He smiled wryly. "Thank you." He glanced up at the setting sun. "It is late. I need to get back to my mother."

"I hope she feels better," I offered as I opened my front gate.

"I do too," he said quietly, and turned, waving. "I'll see you tomorrow, Reina. Take care."

"You too," I returned, and stepped up onto the porch, opening the front door and walking inside. I barely changed into my pajamas before I passed out on my bed.

I didn't dream that night.

* * *

**Right after Kurama leaves Reina's house, he meets Yusuke in the street... right after Yusuke beat Gouki to a pulp. So that's where this story is right now.**

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	6. Goodbye

**Thank you _Moldy Strawberry, _Immariot360, _Delu_, _unknown_ _player_, _F.R.O.E_, _AbyssTales_, and _Wolf-Maiden_ _Mitsuki_ for reviewing! You guys are wonderful! :)**

**Onto the next chapter!**

* * *

_"Every goodbye makes the next hello closer."_

—_Unknown_

Goodbye

* * *

"I feel like the walking dead, and it's all your fault," I groaned as I collapsed in my desk in my classroom. Kurama had relocated, choosing a desk next to mine. His fangirls were chittering angrily in a corner, shooting us suspicious looks, but I was too tired to care.

"Oh?" he looked more amused than repentant. "Why is that?"

"Spending all day with you sapped all of my energy. Just from being in your presence," I mumbled so curious onlookers couldn't hear.

"I apologize," he replied concernedly. He smiled. "Perhaps I can make it up to you. Here…" he rummaged in his backpack for a split second, then pulled out a small bag, handing it to me.

"What? Why did you feel obligated to…" I pulled out a glove made out of thin, brown leather. It was long, elbow-length. "Oh. Gloves? Well, that's nice…" I said hesitantly, unsure of how to react.

He chuckled. "I don't suggest wearing them now, we're gaining enough attention as it is. It's just an extra level of protection against demonic energy."

"Oh!" I said, understanding. I put the glove back into the bag and folded it, placing it in a small zippered pouch on my backpack. "Thanks, Kur—Shuichi. I wouldn't have thought of that on my own. That's very nice of you to do that for me… how much do I owe you?"

"Absolutely nothing," he replied with a smile. "It's a gift, for your gift."

I chuckled once at the joke. "Alright, thanks, Shuichi. I'll cherish them forever."

"Good." Our professor walked into the room as the bell rang. "I hope you don't mind my sitting here…?" He turned it into a question, giving me a pointed look.

The burning was minimal, easily tuned out. I smiled. "I don't mind at all."

Hikari, a little late to class, gave me a shocked look as she walked past me to claim her desk behind mine. I could almost hear the gears turning in her head as she tried to figure out why Kurama was sitting with us. I could also feel the heat from his admirers' glares burning the back of my head. I paid them no mind and resigned myself to having to give Hikari a long explanation later.

Sure enough, she cornered me when I was walking to get my books after first hour.

"So…" she began, drawing out the syllable. She was wearing an impish grin. "You and Shuichi are an item now, huh?"

"Keep your voice down!" I hissed desperately as a gaggle of his fangirls flounced past us, shooting me ugly looks. "And _no_, we're not. I just… got a chance to talk to him after school yesterday and found out he's not all that annoying and full of himself, that's all."

"Ooooh, so you're _talking_?" Hikari asked gleefully.

The man of the hour heard this as he walked by, made eye contact with me, snorted, and kept walking. I sighed as Hikari's face flushed with embarrassment.

"Nope. Friends. Just friends," I said with a smirk. "If Shuichi's reaction to what you just said is any indication."

"Do you _want_ to date him?" she asked, following me as I gathered my books and started walking back to class.

"Not necessarily." I mean, he was good looking obviously, intelligent, and cared a lot about his mother… but I had only _really _known him for a single day. I didn't like him in the way that Hikari was hoping; I saw him as a decent enough friend. But that was all.

* * *

Kurama pulled me aside during our yearbook time. In the lab, there was a little library nook—holding books filled with information on photography, page design, etc. There was a couch there and we sat in seclusion.

"I'm sure you'll be happy to know that Gouki has been apprehended," he said quietly. "The detective Reikai sent after us caught up with him yesterday.

"He also caught up with me as well."

My blood ran cold. "What happened?"

Kurama shrugged. "He was too weak to fight me and reclaim my artifact, so I asked him to meet me at the hospital when the moon becomes full—two days from now. I told him I would make my wish and hand over the artifact without altercation, and he agreed… most likely because he didn't have any other choice."

"Well, regardless… that's good to hear. Do you think there's any chance that he'll back out and try to take the artifact anyway?"

"If he does," Kurama said calmly, "then I will be more than willing to fight him to keep the artifact. He isn't very strong, it would be an easy victory. I hope it doesn't come to that."

"Kurama?" I used his real name because no one was within earshot.

"Hm…?"

I didn't make eye contact. "Have you ever killed anyone? I mean… I'm assuming Gouki has. And Hiei. And since you're kind of their partner in this whole scheme, well…" I glanced up at him; he was smiling a little sadly.

"Humans? None since I was born into this world. Demons?" He shook his head. "Many. They think I am renouncing my demonic ways… something they think is the ultimate betrayal. They have threatened the lives of people I care about… So, yes."

I mulled over that for a little while. "Would you kill the detective? He _is_ human, right?"

"Yes, he is. A psychic, like you." He was silent for a few moments. "I would like to think I wouldn't have to. But if it came down to it… probably. It is a choice between his life and my mother's." He blew a deep sigh. "I hope it doesn't come to that," he said again.

I felt cold. "I probably shouldn't have heard that," I whispered, averting my gaze to my hands. My fingers were trembling a little, so I clenched them into fists.

"I don't believe it will become my only option," he said gently. "Try not to worry too much about it. It will end as it should."

"I hope so, Kurama."

* * *

The next two days passed very quickly. Kurama and I talked less and less, and it took quite an effort to act normal around Hikari, who didn't seem to notice that anything was wrong… however, she stopped asking me whether or not Kurama and I were dating. I think she could sense that that ship had sailed a long time ago. I was grateful that she started refraining.

After school had ended on the last day, Kurama was waiting at my locker. I smiled wryly and walked over to him, putting my books away and grabbing the few that I needed for homework tonight.

"Tonight's the night, huh?" I asked after I had slung my backpack over my shoulder and grabbed my gym bag. I looked up at him—he was wearing a pensive frown. When he didn't answer and didn't look at me, I tried to be positive. "At least he didn't try to take the artifact back. That means he's probably going to stay true to his word."

"That seems to be the case." Again, he didn't look at me, and didn't look any less perturbed.

After a few moments of this, I touched his shoulder lightly to get his attention, ignoring the burn. He glanced over at me quickly.

"Isn't that… a good thing…?" I asked hesitantly.

He replied with an affirmative nod and a small grunt.

"Then… what's wrong?"

Like flipping a switch, he smiled brightly. "Nothing whatsoever. Are you busy today?"

"I was going to go to the gym," I said, shrugging. "But I can skip a day. Why?"

He smiled. "I never cashed that rain check."

* * *

We walked past my house so I could drop off my stuff and went to the park. There was a long wooded trail there that we were currently walking on, my hands swinging at my sides, his in his pockets. Since he was so tall, he had to move with exaggerated slowness to match my pace. I still had to jog a little to keep up.

"I have a question," I said after about ten minutes of walking.

"Hm…?" He slowed down a little to glance over at me.

"I have… this defense. Because of my spiritual power. Right?"

"Yes," he replied patiently, an open expression on his features.

"Do demons have psychic powers? Do demon-human hybrids such as yourself have them too?"

He paused in the middle of the path, and was silent for a second as cicadas hummed above our heads. Then he smiled.

"Certainly. Not all demons have affinities for certain things like most human psychics do… your affinity is, obviously, electricity." He let out a short laugh, and reached up towards a low-hanging cherry tree branch, that was brown and shriveled up from the heat of summer.

As I watched, the limb turned green and dropped what few leaves still remained. Green buds appeared as it shot out towards his hand, and one exploded into a young flower. My mouth popped open in surprise as it unfurled—weeks and months of growth happening in five seconds, tops.

Kurama plucked the flower from the tree and offered it to me in the palm of his hand.

He smiled a little at my flabbergasted expression. "My affinity is for plants," he said unnecessarily.

"I can see that," I laughed, and held up my hand. He tipped the small flower into it, and I stared at it wonderingly. I brought it closer to my face for further inspection. It was a familiar but startling sight—something I saw every spring, but misplaced at the end of summer. It was strange and wonderful at the same time. "Wow. That's really incredible. And uh, pretty."

"Thank you."

I looked up at him. "So… let me guess. You get it to grow off of your energy. Is there a limit?"

"Only when my energy runs out," he replied, nodding in affirmation. "It works with any plant."

"But…" I said, hesitant because I didn't want to insult him, "it's great. Really. But how is it… useful…?"

Far from being hurt, he chuckled a little. "For one, there are many dangerous plants in Makai that I have acquired. And because I can manipulate any plant in any form I please, I can make a piece of grass become a sword… a vine become a whip. I prefer roses, because of the thorns." He grinned.

"Now you're scaring me, Kurama. Whips?" I skittered away from him with a mock expression of terror on my face. "Please don't lock me in your sex dungeon!" He rolled his eyes, and I laughed, walking back over to him, twirling the flower between my forefinger and thumb. "I guess I can see how it's useful, then. Weapons, though… out of plants? Isn't that a little bit… flimsy?"

"They are as strong as I am, because they are infused with my spiritual energy."

"Ah."

There was a long silence, and his lighthearted demeanor slipped a little. His eyes were distant and sad. Something was bothering him.

"Kurama?" I asked quietly. "Is… something wrong?"

He smiled tiredly.

"I have to go away soon," he said abruptly. "Tonight is…" He trailed off into that thoughtful silence again.

"Right. Your wish, with the artifact." I studied him closely. "But… there's nothing to be sad about, right? Your mom is going to be okay after tonight."

He smiled a small smile that didn't reach his eyes, and didn't look at me. I edged a little closer.

"…Right?"

"I have to leave soon," he said abruptly, and met my gaze. His expression was calm, blank. Totally unreadable. "Tonight is the last night you will see me, Reina. I am leaving as soon as my mother is well."

I drew back a little, surprised. "Oh." I tried to find the right words. "Um, okay. But… why?"

He shook his head and didn't answer my question. "Find a boy named Urameshi Yusuke. He goes to the local junior high, the one five blocks from our school. Explain everything to him. He'll make sure you stay safe. But until then…" he continued, interrupting me as I opened my mouth to speak, "try not to go anywhere after dark. Stay in populated areas. And if you feel a demonic aura, _run_."

"Why are you telling me this, Kurama?" I asked, worry seeping into my tone. "It's like you're saying goodbye. Why am I not going to see you again? I mean…" I rambled on as he didn't speak, "it's really none of my business. I just…"

I trailed off as he reacted a little to my words, turning away slightly so his face was hidden. I felt the breath whoosh out of my lungs.

"Kurama…?"

He barely flinched as I touched his shoulder—the burn was barely there; I was wearing gloves and he was still in uniform. I let my hand fall to my side.

"I should take you home," he murmured and offered me a tiny smile.

We walked back in silence, my thoughts racing, his unable to trace—he was incredibly good at hiding his emotions, and I wished he wouldn't. I had an awful feeling that something terrible was going to happen tonight, and wanted to know what I could do to stop it or help make it better.

I stepped up onto my porch when we reached my house, and he hesitated at the gate, studying me.

I drew a deep breath. "Kurama, I want to thank you. For everything. Explaining everything, saving me from Gouki… everything. And I want you to know…" his expression didn't slip away from collected neutrality once, "that, whatever is going to happen tonight… you can tell me. I don't know what I could possibly do to help, but I owe you a lot, so the least I could do is try."

I waited.

He smiled calmly, the picture of ease. "Everything that is going to happen tonight is exactly what should happen, Reina. Do not worry."

"I can't _not_ worry," I sighed, stripping off my gloves and folding them to occupy myself. "You're usually somewhat distant, but, even though I've only known you for a short time, you've _never_ not answered a question. Something is wrong, and I'm not going to get an ounce of sleep tonight. In fact, since I'm going to be up, I might as well visit the hospi—"

"—No," he said rather forcefully, startling me into silence. His expression wan't quite a glare, but close to it. "Stay home, Reina. That is how you can help. By staying here after dark, where it is _safe_."

We had a staring contest for the better part of a minute, and then I backed down. "Alright."

"Thank you." He turned to go, letting the gate fall shut behind him.

I heaved an angry sigh as he walked away. "That conversation shouldn't have ended that way!" I called. He hesitated, paused, and turned back.

"I agree," he said quietly, his voice carrying a little from where he stood. "There isn't much time; it should not be wasted on petty disagreements. I apologize."

He walked up to the gate, opened it, and walked up to stand next to me on the porch. I sat on the top step, and he followed suit.

"I'll stay home if you tell me what's going to happen."

"I cannot do that."

I bit my tongue. I didn't want to have another argument. I didn't want to be remembered that way. "Alright."

We sat there in silence for awhile, watching the sun go down over the tops of the taller apartment buildings a block over.

"I'm a little sad that this is it," I mused after a bit. "You turned out to be a decent human being—well, sort of."

He chuckled a little at that. "Thank you. You turned out to be a decent human being as well."

"I can't help but wonder what's going to happen after this."

"You will find Yusuke," he said gently. "and you will be alright."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm still worrying about you, not myself, Kurama."

"I see." More silence. "I kind of can't believe this is it. I guess it'll hit me later." I sighed and slapped the gloves on the ground next to me. I started to fiddle with the pocket near the hem of my top.

"I apologize for your stress," he murmured. "I wish you wouldn't worry."

I pulled out the (slightly crumpled) flower and held it out to him. "Here. For good luck. If I ever see you again, I want it back though, okay?" I asked, shooting him a teasing smirk.

He plucked it out of my fingers without making skin contact. "Thank you. I cannot promise that we will meet again, though."

"That's alright. Just take it. It's kind of yours anyway."

He nodded, and stood. "Better?"

I laughed once, wryly. "Yes. That ending was much better." I stood as well, slipping on one of my gloves. I offered him one hand to shake, and smiled.

"I would give you a hug, but I don't know how well that would end. So have a handshake."

He smiled and took me up on my offer. "Goodbye Reina."

"Bye, Kurama. It was nice knowing you."

I stood on the porch and watched him go. When he disappeared into an alleyway—taking the same shortcuts we did when we went to the hospital—I went inside.

* * *

…**And there you have it. The next chapter is going to take a bit, there's a lot of stuff I want to add to it.**

**Until next time!**

—**crossyourteez**

**Also, er, I disclaim the original plot line of YYH. It is not mine. Please don't kill me, Yoshihiro Togashi... I love you. XD**

**I own Reina. And the sub-plots. **

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	7. Breathless

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**Thank you _Wolf-Maiden Mitsuki, Shadow Ice Maiden, MizuKaji, Delu, _and_ Otaku-neku_ for reviewing!**

**I hope you like it!**

* * *

_"Truth is truth, to the end of reckoning."_

_-Shakespeare_

Breathless

* * *

I woke up in darkness.

I reached over for my bedside table and fumbled for the lamp, clicking it on after a few tries. I sat up, and subconsciously put my hand over my heart, feeling it clench, cringe.

Something evil was seeping into my room as if on a breeze, and I shuddered as goosebumps ran up my spine.

Glancing around my room nervously, I swung my legs over the bed and padded hesitantly to my window.

I glanced out. Nothing. I shrugged and turned to go back to bed—and froze in silent terror.

A silhouette stood between me and my bed—incredibly tall, looming over me.

I scrambled back and my shoulders hit the window. I wanted to scream for help, but I couldn't find my voice—only stare in mute horror as the figure glided over to me, kneeled to look me in the eye.

The moonlight lit up Kurama's face; his presence made my blood boil.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly, and then he grinned, a horrible fanged grin—his features elongating and becoming something alien and terrifying, and his eyes glowed acidic green in the dark.

* * *

With a small scream, muffled against my pillow, I woke up and shot into a sitting position, looking about me wildly.

A dream. Just a dream.

I looked down at myself and saw that I was still in my school uniform from yesterday, and groaned.

I'd been sitting up in bed last night when Kurama had left, too stressed out to fall asleep, and had apparently passed out regardless.

It was then that I groggily noticed that my alarm was beeping, so I reached over and slapped it off, rubbing my other hand over my eyes.

I hoped Kurama was okay. Of course, there was no way I would be able to find out.

I took a quick shower, tossed my uniform in the hamper after finding another to wear, and grabbed a piece of toast on my way out. I was actually heading out earlier than I normally did, even with such a late start.

I needed to get to school and distract myself—I didn't want to be alone with my own thoughts.

Hikari wasn't there yet, and none of the people I knew from yearbook were either. I felt awkward standing in the hall alone while gaggles of girls and guys grouped together to talk before the first bell, so I went out to the courtyard.

There was some Geometry I hadn't done last night, so I pulled out my notebook and started working, fluffing my hair with one hand so the roots would finish drying from my shower.

A faint prickling of static against my skin made me hesitate in the middle of finding the area of a triangle, and glance up.

Standing at the other end of the courtyard, under a small maple, was Kurama.

I could only stare at him for the better part of a minute; finally I cleared my throat.

"You… why are you…?"

He smiled and walked over to me. I scooted to one edge of the bench so he could sit down, still staring at him, hardly believing that he was there. "I thought you said…"

"I meant it at the time," he said quietly. He was still smiling, and this time, it reached his eyes. They fairly danced with happiness. "But… I am still here. Alive. Somehow."

"Alive?" I asked sharply, slapping my notebook shut and staring at him in horror. "What the _hell_ is that supposed to mean…?"

Instead of answering immediately, Kurama reached into his pocket and pulled out the flower I returned to him yesterday, handing it to me. I took it from his hand carefully, mindful of the burn.

"But…"

"The artifact I used," he began quietly, "would grant a single wish at the full moon… in exchange for the wisher's life."

My jaw dropped. "You—last night—you were going to—?" I spluttered, not able to fully grasp it.

"Exchange my life for my mother's? Yes," he said simply, still smiling, completely unperturbed. What was _wrong_ with him…?

"What, so Shiori could _mourn_ your death until the end of her days?" I hissed.

He shook his head with a small chuckle. "That's exactly what Yusuke said… as he offered up his life so I could survive." He blew a small sigh. "The artifact took half of my strength, half of his—both of us survived."

"Yusuke…"

"The Detective, yes."

"You were going to send me to Reikai's detective?" I asked, realizing. "Also… he _saved_ you?"

"He has a good heart," Kurama said simply. "When I saw that my mother was well, I gave him the artifact. She will be under observation through the weekend, but she should be able to go home Sunday afternoon." As he said this, the bell rang, and he stood. "Time for class. Let's go, Reina."

I pocketed the flower and rose, gathering my things. "How can you just _go to class_ like everything is normal again? You almost _died_ yesterday…"

"Yet I am alive today," he replied, turning and shooting me a kind smile. "It makes me appreciate the small things in live—like punctuality. Come along."

He held open the door and waited as I stared at him.

"You're insane…" I grumbled, shouldering my backpack and marching past him.

* * *

When school ended, Kurama had yet to lose that smile on his face. He looked like he was walking on air.

I was happy that Shiori was alright, but the fact that he so casually decided to end his life… that disturbed me. I guessed his reason to live was his mother's safety, and because her life had been in jeopardy… nothing else had mattered.

It was sweet in a weird way—that he cared so much. I'd never seen anything like it.

"What are your plans for this weekend?" he asked after the last bell had rang and I was gathering my things at my desk.

"Um…" I blew a stray strand of hair out of my face. "I'm going to the gym today, but that's it so far. I'm guessing you're going to be at the hospital?"

"For most of the time, yes," he answered, nodding. "But I have time to walk you to the gym if you want the company."

I shrugged, and walked next to him as we left the classroom. "Sure, I guess. Just let me get my bag."

"Certainly."

I grabbed my stuff and we set out on the ten-minute walk between Meiou High and the gym. After walking in silence for a bit, I got the urge to start a conversation.

"So… where has your dad been all this time? I don't remember seeing him at the hospital."

"He died when I was very young."

"Oh." So much for that.

"My mother is dating a man called Mr. Hatanaka," Kurama offered, not sounding the least bit sad about his father. "He has a son named Kokoda. He looks up to me like I am his older brother."

"Do you think he will be your younger brother someday?"

Kurama glanced at me. "Perhaps. It seems likely. Mr. Hatanaka makes my mother very happy; they are well suited for each other I think."

"That's good to hear. I bet he's very relieved that she's feeling better."

Kurama laughed. "That is an understatement."

We continued small talk like that until we got to the gym. He opened the door for me as I was reaching for it, causing an awkward second of fumbling and a muttered "Thank you" as I edged in through the door.

"Thanks for walking with me," I said as we stood in the small alcove of the entranceway, shooting him a small smile.

"It wasn't any trouble," he replied courteously.

"Well… bye."

"I'll see you Monday, Reina."

With that, I turned and strode off towards the locker rooms. I didn't understand why I was suddenly so tongue-tied, why every second of silence brought on a bout of nervousness. I shook my head at myself and changed quickly, yanking my hair into a high bun. After stowing away my things in my locker, I strode out onto the gym floor, and froze on the spot.

My mom had found Kurama.

She was over near the entranceway, at the edge of the gym, talking animatedly with him. As I watched, she laughed at something she said, reaching out and punching him lightly on the shoulder. I took a deep breath and strode over there.

"Hey mom, I guess you've met Shuichi…" I said hesitantly as I walked within earshot. She turned and shot me a surprised look.

"Oh, _Reina _is your friend? What a coincidence." She laughed and turned back to Kurama. "Well Shuichi, as she just said—I'm her mother. Now are you _sure _you wouldn't like to sign up for a yoga class, just one…? It's for strapping young men too!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Shueisha, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline. Thank you though," he replied courteously, shooting me an amused look.

"Sorry, Kur—Shuichi," I stage whispered. "She corners every new face she sees walk into this gym. Mom," I said, addressing her, "he was just walking me here to keep me company, _not_ looking for a subscription."

"I"m not _that_ bad," she said with a snort, waving her hand at me. "Shoo." Then she paused. "Oh, he was _walking _you here?" she asked slowly, a slow smile creeping up onto her features. She stroked her chin. "Why, isn't that just _sweet_..."

"Okay, time for you to go, Shuichi," I said hurriedly, taking him by the elbow and all but dragging him out of the gym. "Mom, say bye!"

"But—"

The door closed before she could finish her sentence, and I released Kurama, heaving a huge sigh and pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Sorry about that, Kurama."

"Don't be. Your mother is a very nice lady."

I groaned. "Yeah, I know… but still. Sometimes she can be _too_ nice. Thus, the apology."

Kurama laughed and shook his head. "Whatever you say. Goodbye Reina, for the _second_ time today."

I rolled my eyes, having to chuckle a little bit. "Yeah, exactly. Bye, Kurama!"

When he was gone, I walked back inside. My mother was waiting just inside the door.

"So… who is this little boyfriend of yours, Reina…?"

"Mom… don't _even_ think about it."

* * *

Hikari came over several times over the weekend, and every time the doorbell rang and Mom was home, she perked up and scampered off to answer it, a little disappointed each time—hoping that it was Kurama, no doubt.

"Do you _like_ him?" she asked me one night while we were sitting in the living room, the news playing softly in the background.

I nearly choked on my coffee. "_No_, mom."

"…Do you _like like _him?"

"_Mom…_"

She gave up with a sad expression on her face.

"What's this I hear about my daughter going out with someone named 'Minamino Shuichi'?" My dad asked me at one point. I sighed sharply, glanced up from my literature homework, and glared at him.

He blanched. "Your mother said…"

"_Exactly_, dad," I sighed, burying my face in my hands with another sigh. "Exactly."

Thankfully they didn't say anything around Hikari, because that would've set _her_ off. And she was already suspicious to begin with, so...

The weekend passed fairly quickly and before I knew it, I was back in school Monday. Perhaps I was still worn out after my parents' (mainly my mother's) interrogation over the weekend, because as soon as I saw Kurama I started feeling like a _very_ "not-nice" person, as my grandmother, bless her soul, would've said.

I opened my locker with a bit more force than was actually necessary and exchanged books with a vengeance.

"Long weekend?" Kurama asked mildly, sauntering over to my side.

"That's an understatement. I had no _idea_ my mother could possibly be so interested in my dating life…"

"Dating life?"

My heart did an uncomfortable flip-flop at his surprise, and I glanced up at him quickly, feeling like a deer frozen in the headlights. "Uh… what she _thinks_ my dating life is, that is." I laughed nervously. "She's convinced that er, you and um, I are dating. She won't leave me alone. She's wrong of course." I trailed off into an awkward silence, while Kurama chuckled.

_Why_ did I suddenly care so much about what he thought…?

"My mother did the same thing to me," he offered with a smile. "Don't worry, give it a week. She will leave you alone."

"Oh. Okay." I put my shoes in my locker and closed it, tapping the toe of my school-regulated ones against the ground to make sure my foot was all the way in. "I hope you're right… let's go to class."

During the break, as we were working on yearbook, Kurama had to go off and find the captain of the Quiz Bowl team to get a quote about the weekend's competition. As soon as he had left the computer lab, Hikari rounded on me, and I felt my heart plummet.

"So, you and Shuichi are spending a lot of time together lately… I've noticed," she said with a sly smile. "Come on, you can tell me—are you two secretly dating?"

Instead of answering, I simply let my head fall onto my crossed arms, and banged my forehead against the desk.

"Hikari too," I muttered at the end of the day as I was gathering my things. I shouldered my backpack and slammed the locker door shut.

"Hikari what?" Kurama asked in a confused way, looking down at me.

"Thinks we're dating," I growled as I clasped the lock on my locker and twisted the dial with a frustrated twitch of my wrist. Kurama followed me as we walked outside. "It's really very annoy—"

Then I froze.

It was like a tidal wave, an invisible but lethal wall of flame, slamming me with the force of a ramming bull but having the substance of smoke.

"The hell?" I gasped, staggering backwards, hands flying up to cover my mouth. I glanced swiftly to my right, where Kurama should've been, but wasn't.

I looked around in time to see him launch himself off the top of the school steps, only a few yards for me, and then, in the blink of an eye, he was on the grass-lined sidewalk, straightening up and darting away.

"Kur—Shuichi!" I called, noting a couple concerned onlookers. I ran as fast as I could down the same steps that he had sailed past in less than a second, sprinting after him. He seemed to slow slightly, and with a burst of speed, I came level with him.

"You felt that too? What _was_ that...?" I gasped, struggling a little to keep pace with him—I wasn't out of shape at all, what with gymnastics, but he was so _tall_.

"It's an enormous demonic aura!" he said urgently. He looked at me, and came to an abrupt halt. I stumbled slightly and followed suit.

"Stay here, Reina," he said sternly. "This is going to be very dangerous."

Then he took off.

Oh, _hell_ no.

I bolted after him, and he shot me a surprised look when I was able to catch up with him.

"Yep, I'm going with you," I growled, shooting him a glare as we skirted around a gaggle of schoolchildren. "_Last _time you told me to stay behind, you almost got yourself killed! So, I'm coming."

We ran in silence for a good ways, as Kurama's expression became more and more frustrated.

"Alright," he finally said, exasperated. "If you can keep up."

He put on another burst of speed and turned to dart into an alleyway, and I followed suit.

"You—" I spluttered as he sailed over a chain link fence. Muttering curses about wearing skirts and how undignified I was going to look in a few seconds under my breath, I used a milk crate to jump onto a nearby dumpster, and from there, I jumped at the fence, pulling myself up and over. I dropped to the ground in a low crouch, and sprinted after him. "Gymnastics, Kurama! All my freaking life! I am very, very good at _jumping_!"

I caught up with him in the lesser part of a minute, and smirked at him when he turned and shot me a disapproving look.

"Hi."

He simply shook his head and kept running. Apparently he had given up all hopes of evading me.

The burning grew more intense as we ran, until sweat beaded on my forehead and my fingers started to tremble. It was at its worst when we stopped outside a warehouse. Kurama whirled on me.

"If you _must_ follow me, then stay behind me. Try not to get hurt." With that, he spun around and flung open the warehouse door and… disappeared.

Just like that, gone. I scrambled forwards to see him running—blurred with speed—towards the back of the warehouse.

My senses were alive with the fire, and I could see several things very clearly—I wished I had the speed to stop them.

There was a boy there, rigid, frozen, face bloody and tense. There was an undetectable blur advancing on him, and I knew that it's intentions were not good at all.

I could see...

Kurama was running, back towards me, impossibly fast. I watched silently, numbly, unable to do anything but watch...

As he ran towards the boy, sliding to a halt.

As he whirled around to face the deadly blur, face stony and decided.

Then everything became very silent.

I could hear the outtake of breath as Kurama gasped with pain. I could hear the boy make a stunned noise of disbelief.

But, more than that, I could see the sword...

...Going straight through Kurama, the end sticking out of his back.

The short demon I had seen hanging out with Kurama a couple weeks ago—Hiei—took a few steps back, releasing the blade, and Kurama fell to his knees.

I stumbled forward a few steps, then broke into a frenzied run, heart lurching into my throat.

"_KURAMA...!"_

* * *

**Hehe. Cliffhanger. Though probably all of you know what's going to happen next XD**

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	8. Complications

**Who likes Botan? I do! :D**

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* * *

_"I see mysteries and complications wherever I look, and I have never met a steadily logical person."_

_-Martha Gellhorn_

Complications

* * *

I skittered to a halt as the small demon whirled on me.

I felt like flames were licking at my skin—I stumbled back with a gasp, falling to the ground. It was an inferno.

He bared his teeth at me, then disappeared.

I scrambled to my feet, looking for him. He was nowhere to be found—too fast to be seen.

I took my chances and ran for Kurama.

"Kurama...! Oh, _holy_... what do I do?" I gasped, looking between him, the sword, and up at his strained face again.

Suddenly, I cringed as a fiery force hell-bent on destroying me pressed down on my shoulders and spine, _crushing_—

Then I was jerked around so fast that it felt like I was falling sideways, and all I could see was the expanse of Kurama's back, and his arms thrown out protectively on either side of it, shielding me from view.

"I'll _destroy _you, Kurama...!" A furious voice bellowed. I could hear sharp blows, a few grunts that grew further away. I flinched at each one of them, but was unable to look away from the blade of the sword sticking out of Kurama's back. It was horrifying—fascinatingly so. I couldn't seem to look away.

"Take care of your business. I'll see to the girl." Kurama called to someone I couldn't see, not moving an inch from his stance in front of me.

"But you've got a _sword_ in your gut!" A boy's voice replied, horrified. The same voice let out a yell, and the floor shook as something slammed into it.

"Listen, Kurama—turn around, let me see. Please," I urged, trying to edge around Kurama. His arm curved backwards faster than I could perceive, not allowing me to pass. "You need to get to a hospital...!" I protested, giving up the attempt.

"I'm a _demon_, remember?" Kurama informed the voice and me, as exasperated as I had ever heard him. "And you..." He said in undertone, finally turning and taking me by the arm. "Need to just _stay by me_ and _not_ look at Hiei's forehead." Then he stood and began towing me off to a corner of the building, eyes darting between a cluster of crates in front of us and the commotion behind us that I couldn't see.

"Kurama!" I exclaimed, wanting to twist out of his grasp but afraid to hurt him. How was he even _standing_? "Sword. Lodged in your _stomach...!"_

"Demon," he retorted, looking down at me with a pained expression. "I'll get over it."

"But..."

We rounded the crates, then he spun me around to face him, placing a steadying hand on my shoulder.

"But you need to get this out of me." He told me, eyes focused on my face. "We need the antidote."

"Antidote?"

He nodded to something behind me. "This sword turns any human it cuts into a demon slave. Hiei attacked a human girl... and the only way to reverse the process is to—" He winced, and my hands fluttered uselessly around the hilt of the sword, trying vainly to assist him, "give her the antidote in the hilt of the sword." He shook me slightly. "You need to pull it out—I can't do it."

"You're not trying to be... macho or anything, are you?" I whimpered, yanking off my backpack quickly and retrieving the gloves. I hurriedly put them on and reached for the wound, pressing my left hand on his stomach, just over the blade of the sword, fingers of my right curling around the hilt. "You're going to be alright...?"

"Just do it." He closed his eyes and gripped my shoulder with his hand, bracing himself.

"Alright," I whispered, voice gone. "One... two..."

My eyes squeezed shut of their own accord, and I jerked back on the handle, the sickening sound of metal tearing through flesh penetrating my brain like a thousand red-hot knives. Kurama snarled a pain-induced explicative, the hand on my shoulder clenching. I hissed under my breath and jerked away from him, resisting the urge to rub my shoulder as I stared up at him in horror.

"I'm sorry—I'm so sorry." I stuttered as he winced again. My eyes flicked down to the gaping wound in his stomach. "That's… a lot of blood, Kurama," I said unsteadily. It was pooling around his knees on the floor. He brought up his hand to cover the wound.

"D – don't worry about it." He replied breathlessly. He looked up, then took the sword from my bloody hands. I tried not to dwell too much on that.

I turned so I didn't have to see it, and had to hold my arms up, shielding my gaze.

It was like a miniature sun, not three feet from me. Between the swirling tendrils of violent white light, I could see two girls-one lying on the ground, unconscious, the other kneeling next to her, with a grimace of pain on her face. The second one had blue hair, I noted dimly. Her hands were hovering over the unconscious girl's face.

"What's going on?" I asked Kurama, turning towards him and making sure I was staring at his face.

"The girl is being turned into a demon," Kurama said. "It seems that someone is trying to—" I heard him make a low gasp under his breath, and turned to see him pressing the hand that wasn't holding the blood-encrusted sword against his stomach again. It was completely red. "to... stop it."

He sank a little lower to the ground, and studied the handle. "It's a puzzle." He said, frustration knotting his brow. "The antidote's inside..."

"We have to hurry." I said, staring at the two girls next to us.

Then it hit me.

"Kurama!" I said, whirling on him. "I can suppress demonification! Think about it—my power kills demons, but not humans... it would stop the process in it's tracks!" Then I gripped the glove on my right hand with my left, and started to pull it off, twisting and sinking into a crouch next to the kneeling, blue-haired girl. She didn't seem to notice.

But before I could peel the glove off, Kurama's hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. I looked up at him.

"No. It would take too much out of you—you would be suppressing the Evil Eye." His eyes were wide, worried.

I twisted my hand out of his grasp. "She would become a demon slave... and I don't want that on my conscience," I said bluntly, yanking the glove off the rest of the way. A rivulet of Kurama's blood dripped off the end of it, landing on my bare arm, and, with a hiss, evaporating.

"The faster you work out that puzzle, the less I'll be exposed to it," I said simply.

He eyed me for a second. Then he nodded, once, and turned his gaze onto the hilt of the sword.

I took a deep breath, turned to the girl, and stretched out my hand.

Immediately, the blinding white light enveloped me, constricting around me as securely as iron chains. I couldn't move, even if I wanted to. But I didn't—couldn't—because this girl's free will was at stake. There was no way she would lose it... not while I was here.

And I could feel the toll it was taking on my strength instantly. The pure white light burned as it seared through my veins, and I grimaced with the raw power of it, the consuming flames.

It seemed like forever—decades instead of seconds, then a hand like iron clasped around my glove-clad arm, jerking me backwards. I slid across the floor and came, rolling, to an exhausted stop. So tired...

I couldn't move. My eyes slid in and out of focus, but I could hear dimly what was going on around me. Not that I could make sense of it.

"_How's Keiko? And who's this chick?" _Someone standing over me, staring down at me. They were wearing green.

"_...Fine. The antidote's working. And I don't know." _A face peered into mine—it had blue hair.

"_Reina?" _

"Reina." Someone said gently. I couldn't see—the darkness was creeping along the edges of my vision, blinding me.

"She... alright...?" I managed.

There was a blur above my head, someone nodding. "Yes."

"G... good..." I sighed, and let the darkness have me.

* * *

I slowly came to.

My surroundings swam before my eyes, hazy, blurred... then cleared.

It was a bright, sterile-looking room. Immediately, I guessed that it was a hospital. Which meant that, impossibly, I had survived.

A startled sort of laugh escaped my lips, and as I tried to push myself into a sitting position, a gloved hand appeared out of nowhere and took my arm gently.

"Don't try to get up, Reina," Kurama said concernedly. "You've been asleep for a while..." his expression hardened, "In a coma, actually," He amended, almost sounding angry.

"Well," I shrugged, shoulder twinging uncomfortably, "At least I'm alive. How long have I been in here?" Then I twisted my arm out of his grasp and pulled myself up the rest of the way, crossing my legs. Something tugged slightly at the crease at my elbow, and I glanced down to see an IV feed. Then I looked up at Kurama expectantly.

"The rest of the week. It's Friday." He fixed me with an intense stare. "And something you just said bothered me... 'at least I'm alive'? Like you weren't... _expecting _to..." His sentence cut off. He looked sick.

I shrugged again. "I knew that it was a definite possibility." I said, trying to sound nonchalant as his features froze into a staggered expression, "But, I mean... that girl was about to be turned into a demon..."

He stared at me with an unfathomable expression for nearly a minute, then sank into a chair at my bedside and leaned forward, hands coming up to cover his eyes and forehead, elbows resting on the edge of my bed.

"Reina," He said quietly, evenly. "Listen to me, and understand... I _don't know _the limits of your abilities. Only you do. And I'm asking, no, begging you..." He looked up, eyes urgent, "...to _never_ do that again. If there's even the slightest possibility that you might—" He couldn't seem to finish. "Please." He said simply.

"Please what?"

"Swear to me that you'll never do that again." His eyes were pleading.

"Alright." My voice was careful. "Even though you did the same thing. Risked your life for someone else." I raised my eyebrow at him.

He was stunned into silence for a second, then he frowned. "That's different."

"How?"

But before he could say anything, the door opened and someone walked in.

"Hey." I said, surprise coloring my tone. It was the blue-haired girl from yest—from the last time I was conscious.

"Oh, good! You're awake!" She beamed at me. Kurama rose to his feet, stiffly, slowly. Her smile faltered.

"No." Kurama said. I glanced swiftly up at him. "You can't. Just give me a moment to explain—"

I had no idea what was going on. But, judging from the tone of Kurama's voice... it wasn't good.

"I'm sorry." The girl looked sincere. "But it's against the law for humans to know... I'm afraid I'm going to have to take her to Reikai..."

"Take me?" I interrupted. "I'm not going _anywhere_... whoever you are."

"Botan." The girl introduced herself, suddenly cheery, all traces of her former sobriety gone. "Guide to the Spirit World, ferrygirl of the River Styx… I have a lot of names, but they all mean Death, I suppose…"

"Death?" I asked weakly. "So I _did_ die...?"

"No, silly!" Botan skipped to my side, ignoring Kurama's small noise of protest, and sat on the edge my bed, patting my hand in a motherly sort of way. "But humans aren't _allowed_ to know about the supernatural, so I need to take you to Reikai, to have your memory erased." She grinned. How could Death possibly be so chipper?

I shot Kurama a desperate look. He coughed once and said, "Botan, it's not that simple. Surely you remember what Reina did to that girl's Evil Eye…?"

Botan drew a blank look.

Kurama sighed. "It's like that—for every demon that she touches. Including myself. And she can't control it." He glanced down at me. "And, as you can see, her defense takes its own toll against her."

Botan's mouth popped open. "Oh." She stared at me with new eyes.

"That's how I found out," I offered quickly. "Because I ran into Kurama one day… and knew something was up."

"Oh," Botan said again, violet eyes thoughtful. "Well… that changes things."

"In what way?" Kurama demanded.

"If her memory was erased, she would probably run into a demon again," Botan mused. "So, we would have to _keep_ erasing her memory… and, besides, she could overexert herself because she wouldn't know what she was doing."

"Which means?" I asked a little louder. I was fed up with being talked about as if I were not in the room.

"That the procedure would be pointless," Botan answered with a wide smile. It faded. "However, I'm going to need to see proof of it _before_ I put this in my report…"

"Please, she is very weak," Kurama argued, shooting her a dark look.

I waved him off. "Sure, I don't mind. I feel just fine." I looked over at Kurama. "Hey… come here."

He stared at me disapprovingly.

I blew a sharp sigh. "_Please_, Kurama? You said it isn't strong enough to hurt you."

"That is hardly my biggest concern…" He deliberated for a few moments, then walked over. Botan stood and backed away as he took her place on the edge of my hospital bed. He pulled off one wrist-length glove that he was wearing, and held out his hand towards me, fingers slightly curled.

Botan edged a little closer, looking on interestedly, and I inhaled to steady myself.

I lifted my hand towards his, and our fingertips touched.

A bright spark of electricity erupted from my fingertips, arcing out and attacking his hand. I jerked my hand back and felt the drain instantly, sinking back against the pillows tiredly.

Kurama retreated to the other side of the room, staring at Botan. "Is that good enough? She's about to pass out again."

"Oh goodness," Botan said worriedly, flouncing over to me and resting a hand on my clammy forward. "Goodness," she repeated, sounding guilty. "I'm very sorry, but I can see how her power affects her. Thank you, Reina." She dropped her hand and took a step back, glancing over at Kurama.

"I'll be going now." She looked down at me, and grinned. "So, if you can keep a secret—"

"—Of course," I promised instantly.

"—then my work here is done," Botan finished cheerily. She beamed at Kurama, then me. "By the way, you two look cute together."

"W–what?" I stuttered. Kurama chuckled quietly at my reaction.

Botan was already halfway out the door. "We're going to be best friends!" She called back to me happily. "See you later!"

Then she was gone.

I stared dumbly at the spot where she had just been.

"Did Death just tell me that we look cute together?" I asked to no one in particular.

"She might be right." Kurama teased slyly, eyes joking, voice radiating with relief.

I rolled my eyes, and we lapsed into silence.

"You don't have to be all the way over there you know," I informed Kurama quietly. "I'm okay, really."

"You can't see yourself," he said simply. "You're pale. And your temperature dropped when you touched me."

"How do you know that?"

He stared at me, and lifted a single eyebrow.

"Right," I sighed. "Demon. From what I could see, that makes you really fast and agile too—hey, how is your stomach doing?" I asked quickly, flicking my gaze in the general direction of his navel. He was wearing his school uniform.

"Completely healed," he returned brightly.

"How…?" I asked after a few moments of surprised silence.

"Demon."

"Oh. Right. Again."

"So… I'm hoping you can get me out of here," I said after another bout of silence. I grimaced at my IV feed. "I hate hospitals…"

When he didn't answer, I looked up. His eyes were unfocused, listening intently to something I couldn't hear.

"Company," he said simply, and moved away from the door.

My mom came in first, and then my father. My dad turned and shook Shuichi's hand, and my mom immediately rushed to my side, hugging me carefully.

"Oh honey, how're you feeling? Are you tired?" She pressed a hand to my forehead. "You're a little cool…"

"I'm alright, really," I said, pulling away from her.

"Shuichi called as soon as you started stirring," she offered. She winked. "He's a keeper, that one."

"Mom!" I hissed.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop—only because you've been in the hospital." She rolled her eyes and shot me a wide smile. "I'm so happy you're awake, sweetie."

"The doctor said we can take you home after he checks to make sure you're alright," my dad said, walking up to stand next to my mother. "I spoke with him on the way up. He'll be on his way shortly."

"Good," I sighed, and rolled my shoulders a little, stretching as best I could with an IV attached to me.

Kurama left before the doctor came by, and after he did, my mom pointed out that he had left a single rose on my bedside table, gushing about how sweet he was. I felt a little guilty for not noticing, but I'm sure he didn't mind too much. I would thank him for it later.

The doctor asked me a few questions about my memory and strength, listened to my heart and lungs, and then discharged me. Unfortunately I had to be wheeled out in a wheelchair.

My mom had dug around in the back of my closet (the _very _back, I might add), and found a light green sundress for me to wear.

I felt very exposed without my gloves, with my shoulders and shins bare… it was unnerving.

We took our small family car home; Dad drove.

When I opened my bedroom door, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The light was off, but the drapes were pulled back from the window, allowing the sunlight to shine in.

Then...

I felt a tingle that something wasn't right. I hurriedly fumbled for the light switch as the all-too-familiar burn ebbed in my veins.

The light flicked on, and I saw Kurama sitting at the foot of my bed, Jinx curled up in his lap.

I started violently, heart lurching into my throat, hand flying up to my mouth. I fought down a scream, and then let my hand fall to my side once I had gained my composure.

"Oh..." I said weakly, sinking to the ground.

"Reina?" Kurama asked quickly, pushing my cat off his lap and springing lightly to my side. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to frighten you. I forgot that your eyes aren't as good as mine..." He said awkwardly, reaching out to pull me to my feet but halting when I waved at him.

"No... just... give me a second." I took a few calming breaths and tried to slow my racing heart. "I'm fine, really." I assured him when he didn't relax. I rose to my feet—unsteadily, but stood nonetheless. "See?"

He stood in one fluid movement, brow furrowed, eyes intent on my face. "You're sure...?"

"Very." I turned and pulled my door shut behind me.

Jinx eyed me in a dignified way from my bed, and after looking at him for a second, I glanced up at Kurama.

"Hold up... How did you get in here?" I asked incredulously.

"The window." He smiled.

I gave him a long look, then crossed the room and looked out of the window, down to the alleyway below. Then I looked back at a placid-faced Kurama, out the window, and back at him again.

"This..." I said slowly, "Is the second story. How did you get up here...?" I lived on the "second story" of my parent's house, though it was really a refurbished attic.

"I climbed." He sat down on the edge of my bed, where Jinx promptly leaped into his lap, and waved a book at me, grinning. "Stony limits cannot hold love out." He quoted, waggling my worn copy of _Romeo and Juliet_ in my direction. It was what we were currently reading in class—I had borrowed it from the library.

"Very funny—not. Though my mother, Hikari, and Death would've _loved_ to hear you say that," I grouched, still resentful from being startled. I flopped down next to him, keeping a careful distance, and with a mewl, Jinx abandoned Kurama's lap for mine. I scratched absentmindedly behind his ears. "So... new question. _Why_ are you here?"

He tossed my book onto my desk and answered, "Because there's a formidable demon in the area by the name of Rando... and he specializes in stealing unique powers from his victims." He eyed me soberly. " I caught his scent when I went to visit you in the hospital."

"Okay." I held up my hands. Too much information, too little time. Kurama fell silent. "So now he's coming after me? And _scent?" _I gave him a look. "Like... I don't know... a bloodhound?"

He smiled slightly at my question, then said, "No... Botan told me that he's after someone else, but it still caught me off guard. And yes," He grinned, "scent. When Gouki attacked you, I caught _your_ scent and sought you out. Good thing I did too." He added, with a look of mock superiority.

"So you scaled two stories because...?"

"Because I spent every night in the hospital, when you were unconscious, to make sure he didn't take any interest in your power," he said, expression becoming serious. "I didn't want Rando _near_ you, and I still don't."

I saw what he was getting at. "You're planning on spending the night?" I asked incredulously.

"Hardly. That would be rather inappropriate." He grinned as my face flushed. "I noticed you had an empty flower box hanging on your windowsill. So I planted a few plants of my own. They're demonic in nature, and a bit like venus flytraps. They know my energy signature so they won't attack me, but if a strange demon attempts to enter your room, they'll take care of it.

"Do you want to see?"

"Um…" I stood. "Sure."

We walked over to the window, and he pushed it open.

They were short, squat, leafy ferns. Three of them, just sitting there.

"They look so innocent…"

"They're vicious," Kurama said, rather proudly. "Their energy is suppressed until it comes in contact with another demonic energy, so it won't interrupt your sleep."

"Well, that's… very considerate of you. Thank you, Kurama." I smirked at him. "But you _could_ just let one of these demons get to me," I joked, "and save yourself the trouble..."

His expression soured. "Not funny." He said, frowning down at me.

"Joking, joking…" I trailed off. "Oh yeah, thanks for the flower. It's in a vase downstairs."

"You're welcome," he responded with a smile.

He left the same way he came, leaping easily out of my window and rolling once as he hit the ground to lessen the blow. He stood up and dusted himself off, then looked up, offering me a little wave before striding off around the corner.

* * *

"So you're _sure_ you're okay?" Hikari asked for the millionth time, eyeing me like I was a ticking time bomb. "I mean... the doctors couldn't figure out what happened..."

I nodded for the millionth time. "Yes," I said, "all I remember was going home, sitting on my bed... and then, nothing."

"You were in a coma," Kurama intoned, leaning halfway across our little circle we had made with our desks, an expression of faux worry on his face.

My lips twitched into a faint smile, but I smothered it, mindful of Hikari watching me.

I recalled the recap Kurama had given me over the weekend concerning our flirting with death.

Apparently, he had brought me home after I had passed out in the warehouse. My parents had transferred me to the hospital from there. When I woke up I hadn't been sure what to tell them, but I had recently gotten my story straight, feigning amnesia as my parents interrogated me, the rest of the weekend. Hikari had interrogated me as well—I had actually taken the phone off the hook because of the incessant ringing.

I rolled my eyes at Kurama. Our necessary charade—these little dramatic exchanges for the benefit of witnesses like Hikari—was starting to get on my nerves. "Maybe it's because I was hanging out with you people... you both have a way of sapping the life out of me." I sighed heavily, then ducked my head and smirked sidelways at Kurama. He grinned slightly—understanding the joke.

My parents had held me hostage for the rest of the weekend up until yesterday. Last night I had finally put my foot down and insisted upon attending school the next day, that is to say, today.

But it was hardly fun…I quickly found out there was the homework for me to make up.

"Ugh! I cannot _believe_ this!" I groaned, staring at my locker and all the books that I had to bring home.

"I can help you, if you want," Kurama offered, leaning against the locker next to mine.

"That would be _greatly _appreciated, actually. Just prepare yourself for the onslaught of 'You look so _cute_ tog ether's' and 'When are you two giving me grandchildren's'," I muttered as I slammed my locker door shut. Three of my textbooks slipped off the top of my pile "Crap—"

He deftly bent and caught all three before they hit the floor, and rose, gathering them all in one arm and reaching another hand out to take the rest of my pile. I protested, but he took it anyway.

"Focus on carrying your backpack," he said with a smirk, and walked out the door.

* * *

"One hour and we're done. Wow." I closed my Geometry book with a flourish. "Kurama, you're amazing."

"I try." He rose and started gathering my things. I stood and helped him.

He grinned and swept it all up before I could do anything.

"I can get it all upstairs _just_ as fast as you can," I grumbled, crossing my arms.

He gave me a look of disbelief.

Then disappeared.

I blinked, startled. Then I rolled my eyes. "You're _such _a fast and _scary_ ginger demon, Kurama…"

He materialized in front of me, earning an unimpressed look from me. He smirked. "As you were saying?"

"You aren't scary at all," I said, unfazed.

He frowned down at me, then said in a long-suffering voice, musing to himself, "Maybe you _need_ a healthy dose of fear. Demonic things _should _scare you."

"Bring it." I challenged.

He grinned, a small, threatening smile, and I regretted instantly what I had just said.

* * *

"By the way..." I said calmly, legs dangling into space, "I'm really _not_ afraid of heights. This is weak, Kurama." I laughed a little. "Actually... this is nice. I like the view." I grinned up at him.

He stood over me, feet firmly planted on one of the uppermost limbs of a towering oak. He gave me a disapproving look that was bordering on amusement. He seemed like he was trying very hard not to laugh at his own failure.

I didn't really know how far up we were —the forest's canopy obscured the ground below. But I knew it had to be a decent vertical distance, because Kurama had jumped quite a long way.

And the view _was_ nice. The tree was located somewhere on the park's deepest trails, and I could pretty much see the entire city, and a little haze beyond.

Sure, the trip up the tree had scared the mess out of me. I mean, he didn't give me any warning. We were just walking quietly through the woods, me wondering what on earth he was planning to do, then he spun around faster than I could comprehend, scooped me up, and, well... jumped. There was really no other word for it. One moment, my feet were on a mercifully flat, stable surface—a lovely thing I like to call the _ground_, then suddenly we were countless feet up into the canopy.

I gazed out over the green expanse, marveling at the sight, then heard a loud buzzing, close to my head.

"Gah... bee." I said, flapping at it.

Then, something _really_ odd happened.

My hand stirred the air around the insect – which was _huge_ for a bee, by the way – and it swirled around in the wind I created, coming closer and brushing my fingertips.

Which would have been completely unremarkable. Except that, when I touched it, there was a flash of blue-white light, a tiny _zapping_ noise…and the bug disintegrated and blew away with the wind.

I blinked several times, staring at my hand. Then I stared up at Kurama, whose dumbfounded expression mirrored mine.

"Um... what just happened?" I asked.

In answer, he bent down, picked me up, then leaped into the air. With a whooshing noise, branches and leaves whistled by us, missing us by inches, then we landed and he set me on my feet before I could cry out in surprise.

"That," he said grimly, "was something that isn't supposed to be here."

* * *

**Another chapter—done! Leave a review on your way out! :)**


	9. Vigilante

**I'm really not giving you guys a chance to review, am I? Oh well! Thanks _Otaku-neku_ for reviewing the last chapter! **

**The second OC of the story is making his appearance in this chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

_"It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious."_

**-**_Alfred North Whitehead_

Vigilante

* * *

"Are you sure it was a Makai insect?" Botan questioned.

"Very," Kurama said. "Reina incinerated it."

It was a week or so after I had fried what Kurama called a 'Makai insect'. Since then, they'd starting appearing in greater numbers; Kurama claimed he'd seen three more within the past few days.

I had just been told about the Kekkai Barrier, the shield between the human world and the demon world. Apparently it kept demons out. They weren't usually allowed into our world, (with only a few obvious exceptions), so if demonic insects were flying into the human world at random... it wasn't good.

"This could be very bad," Botan uneasily, voicing my thoughts.

"Though I dislike to think of it this way..." Kurama said, "it could be a precursor to something much more devastating. Koenma should know about this."

I nodded in assent. Though not having met the son of Lord Enma, Kurama had explained it all very carefully over the past week, voicing that I was probably getting too involved with the comings and goings of the supernatural. I didn't really mind.

Botan nodded. "Alright. I'll get right to it."

* * *

Three months passed, and we didn't see Botan again. Kurama said that Koenma knew about it (having been to Spirit World several times since), but had no idea _why_ the insects were buzzing around. I had fried much more then I wanted to. This irritated Kurama, too.

"It doesn't make any sense," He vented later, after I'd resignedly incinerated another Makai insect that had been buzzing around my head.

"Don't worry too much about it," I advised, shaking the demonic ashes off my palm with disgust. "You're just frustrated because now you can't say that you know everything," I snubbed, smirking.

Over the next couple of weeks, Botan started dropping by at random, asking about the demonic bug infestation. When we told her that, so far, we didn't know anything new, she became more and more disappointed.

It was actually annoying after awhile. You would think Botan would understand that we would _tell_ her if we figured out something, had an epiphany, or whatever.

But I soon found that there was, impossibly, something more irritating than Botan's incessant nagging.

I was scanning an article for mistakes after school, in yearbook, when it happened. The equivalent of the apocalypse.

"Hey… Reina…"

I glanced up a little more quickly than necessary, surprised that _Chief_, of all people, was talking to me. I had made it obvious that his presence was unwelcome, because his personality grated on my nerves. He hovered over me more than anyone else, despite this.

Before I could answer, though, he blurted, fidgeting with his glasses nervously, "D-do you want to—and I know it's kinda short notice—" he laughed once, snorting, a clear case of nerves, "—but I was wondering… if you wanted to go out with me. Tonight." He smiled hopefully, chewing on a fingernail.

"Er…" I said awkwardly.

"If you can't do anything tonight, then I can reschedule—anytime." He added, scrambling desperately to trap me in my own words.

"Um," I replied intelligently. My eyes slid past Chief, behind him, to the bookshelf in opposite corner of the computer lab. Kurama was sitting in one of the chairs there, smirking widely over his book at my obvious discomfort, silently shaking with laughter. I resisted the childish urge to stick out my tongue at him.

Then I had an idea. I looked up at Chief, smiling sweetly. "Could you, ah… give me a second…? I need to ask Kur—Shuichi something…"

Before he could reply, I stood and brushed past him, crossing the room and kneeling next to Kurama's chair, begging in a whisper:

"_Help me,"_ I hissed desperately.

"And how do you propose I do that?" He asked mildly, smiling innocently down at me.

Hikari, who had been standing a ways down the row of books, edged closer.

"I don't know," I said in a low voice, "but you have to do something. _Please,"_ I pleaded.

He turned his gaze back on his book, eyes thoughtful, then he looked back at me, grinned, and snapped the book shut.

"Got it," he said, lifting an eyebrow, "but I warn you... I _will_ go through with it." He smirked.

"Anything," I promised rashly, rising to my feet.

He nodded approvingly. "Good... because here he comes."

"So... what do you say?" Chief asked, startling me even though I had been warned. _He's a real creeper_, I thought tactlessly, shrinking behind Kurama's chair.

"Actually..." Kurama said with friendly ease, looking up at Chief, "Reina will be unavailable tonight. And every other night in the foreseeable future, as far as I'm concerned."

He smiled pleasantly.

In my peripheral vision, I saw Hikari's eyes bug out of her head.

I looked between Kurama and Chief, noting the staggered expression on Chief's scrawny features, the calm smile on Kurama's. Holy... this was _not_ the help I had been expecting.

"You're _dating?"_ Chief asked incredulously.

I opened my mouth to make a hasty denial, but Kurama beat me.

"Yes," He said, nodding once at Chief, then he turned his head towards me and winked. I suppressed the urge to laugh, albeit hysterically.

"Oh." Chief looked crestfallen. "Well... ok..."

Then he made an awkward retreat. I looked down at Kurama.

"You..."

But he stood fluidly to his feet, gathering his things, with a very weird expression on his face—like he was trying very, very hard not to laugh. I fell silent and followed suit, walking with him out the door, into the hall, and into the mid afternoon sunshine.

Then Kurama started laughing, loudly, leaning against the school's brick wall in the courtyard for support. I crossed my arms and stared at him, waiting for him to finish, fighting a smile.

"Are you _trying_ to humiliate me, Kurama?" I asked weakly when his laughter had subsided somewhat. "Hikari is _never_ going to let me live this down—and I'm going to tell her that we _aren't_ dating.

"It was the easiest answer," he said, still amused. He grinned, "and the look on his face was priceless. You have to admit that at the very least, Reina."

"I know, I know…" I paced a couple nervous steps. "Well… _dammit_, if I deny it, then Chief will ask me out again…" I glared at him. "Look at what you've done, Kurama. I'm going to get _murdered_ by your fangirls."

We stared at each other for a long moment, and then we both burst into laughter.

* * *

"Alright. You have _got_ to stop _doing_ that...!" I squeaked, glowering balefully up at him from the venue my recent mini-swoon had given me—in other words, the floor.

"Doing what?" Kurama asked, bending down and lifting me to my feet.

"Appearing at random in my _locked_ house. _What_ is it?" I said, stumbling slightly. He caught my elbow (I was wearing a comfortable sweater as I did my homework for the weekend), and smirked down at me.

"You forgot? I told you that I would go through with it."

He grin grew wider at my blank expression. "I believe..." he said when my clueless look didn't change, releasing my arm, "that we have a date."

"What?" My expression soured. "No way... not fair, Kurama. What did I ever do to you?"

"I thought that you would be flattered." He grinned.

"Oh, yes." I rolled my eyes. "Just give me a second to jot this down in my diary... demon _stalker_ takes me out on a date. Dinner, a movie, and slaughtering the innocents. Fun."

He continued to smile down at me, not repelled in the slightest and I sighed, defeated.

"You're not going anywhere, are you?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Not without you."

"Fine." I grumbled. "Just give me a moment to change and leave a note I guess... though feel free to stand me up, by all means."

Five minutes later, I was dressed casually in blue jeans and a T- shirt, wearing the gloves that he had given me. I would very much prefer to squish the demonic insects we were sure to encounter, not fry them.

We ended up wandering to a noodle stand, picked up supper, and sat on one of the many stone benches in the park, food balanced on our knees. We made small talk as the sun started to go down, and by the time we had finished our food, it was dark. Kurama rose and threw away both of our takeout boxes, then joined me on the bench again.

Then the most unexpected... and entirely unwelcome... thing happened.

"Hello, Reina."

I looked up swiftly, and saw Chief standing there, a spindly arm around Hikari's waist.

_Help me!_ She mouthed, looking absolutely miserable. I felt a sharp pang of pity. Poor girl.

"Hey," I greeted, and stood. Kurama gave me a questioning look. I shook my head at him, telling him silently that there was no problem. "Hikari... I almost forgot. I need to tell you something..."

"Okay." She squeaked, giving me a grateful look. She twisted out from under Chief's arm, and nearly ran to my side. I took her arm and led her off a ways, Kurama twisting in his seat to look after me, Chief standing with his arms crossed, glowering down at Kurama. Not good.

I turned my attention away from the two at the bench and placed my hands on Hikari's shoulders, genuinely feeling sorry for her. "Hikari... what _happened?"_

"He jumped it on me when I was leaving." She said piteously. "And I said yes before I could use common sense..."

I thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay... here's what you need to do. Tell him you need to... I dunno... go to the bathroom or something. Then give him the slip, alright?"

She nodded quickly. "Okay. But I need to ask you..." Her voice became filled with disbelief, "are you _really_ going out with Shuic-"

"—Reina!" I heard a voice call.

I looked up, my hands falling from Hikari's shoulders. Botan waved frantically at me, Kurama already standing next to her. Chief was (not so discreetly) checking her out.

"Er... gotta go," I said swiftly, sidestepping Hikari. "Just do what I told you to, and you'll be fine. Alright?"

She nodded, eyes alight with raging curiosity, and we jogged back to the group.

"Yeah?" I huffed. "What is it, Botan...?"

"Well, there's a slight problem having to do with Mak—"

"—Mackenzie." Kurama interrupted smoothly. Botan blinked up at him, then seemed to notice Chief and Hikari giving us curious looks.

"That's right... Mackenzie." I prompted, raising my eyebrows at Botan. "Your cat, _right...? _Lovely American name, calico…?_"_

Botan laughed a little nervously. "Right! Um... she's lost. Again. And I need you two to help me find her..." Botan pleaded, eyes wide.

"Let's go." Kurama said, poking me in the small of my back. I suppressed the urge to whirl around and reprimand him for being so pushy.

"So..." I said, once we were out of hearing distance of Hikari and Chief. "What's the _real_ reason you're here, Botan? I'm pretty sure the Grim Reaper doesn't have a cat named Mackenzie..."

In answer, she pulled a flashlight from her pocket, and beckoned us into an alleyway. "In here... but be warned—it's rather gruesome."

* * *

"Is it... dead?" I asked, staring at the thing at my feet.

Botan looked up from her crouch next to the mutilated mass. "Yes. And do you see this?" She pointed the flashlight at the demon's forehead.

After a moment of study, Kurama spoke up. "It was murdered by a swordsman."

"Yes, it was. But look…" She pointed the light at the demon's back. Three long cuts ran from the bottom of its right shoulder blade, to the left side of its waist. "All the demons that have been killed lately have had the same mark," Botan informed us, rising to her feet and brushing off her jeans. She gave us a serious look, jabbing the light at the dead demon. "This is the third demon this week."

I stood up, raising an eyebrow. "Then, what's the problem? No offense, Kurama..." I glanced at him, "but aren't demons the bad guys here...?"

"None taken." Kurama murmured, kneeling to get a better look.

Botan nodded. "Usually... but his is brutalization. And, whoever's killing these demons isn't bothering to hide the evidence. Exposing them to humans. We're guessing that it's another demon killing these—they aren't very strong, but even then, a human wouldn't be able to touch them."

"Alright." I said, understanding. "But... why are you telling _us_ this, Botan...?"

"Well, Yusuke's in training with Genkai right now... you know, what with her tournament and Rando..." She said, explaining for my benefit, "and Hiei refuses... so I didn't know who else to go to."

"You want us to catch whoever's responsible?" Kurama guessed.

"Exactly."

* * *

"Kurama, there is _nothing_ here," I complained in a low voice, glowering down at his face.

Anyone who was interested enough to eavesdrop would probably think I was insane. After all, the communication mirrors that Botan had given Kurama and I were... just that. Mirrors.

Or they would think me vain enough to be talking to myself in the compact mirror. But instead of my face being reflected, Kurama's was staring out calmly, trying to placate me.

"Just broaden your aura like I taught you," He nodded encouragingly, "and see if you can sense anything. Call if you get into trouble... or if you find something."

"Fine," I replied with a weary sigh, snapped the compact shut, shoved it into my pocket. Then I leaned my head back against the bench I was sitting on, and closed my eyes.

All I could hear was the sounds of people greeting each other, the roll of suitcases, and several children crying. Such were the sounds of this blasted train station that Kurama had sent me to.

We were a month or so into the investigation of the demon-killing "Vigilante," as I had christened him, and there had been no leads. None.

Botan hadn't helped much. She gave us a vague description of the person we were searching for, but it was hardly specific enough. Though, granted, she couldn't know exactly what we were looking for. She had provided us with a sketchy profile—because of the brutality of the attacks, she guessed that it was a renegade demon.

And it was also a crafty one—we hadn't even spotted it once.

I took several deep breaths, and tried to broaden my aura.

Kurama and I had been working on this in the last, uneventful month of fruitless searching. Control over my power depended totally on my recognition of it... or so he had told me. I was able to grasp a faint... _feeling_... but nothing groundbreaking.

If I focused, I could just barely sense things outside my usual zap radius.

As soon as I concentrated on the tiny amount of my aura I _could_ feel, an incessant buzzing filled my ears, and a faint flicker of flame entered my mind.

These Makai insects simply _insisted_ on pissing me off...

I opened one eye and glared resentfully at the bug, then, yanking off my glove with a flourish, I reached out and poked it.

With a tiny flash of electricity that no regular human in the train station would see, the insect was reduced to ashes. I grimaced at that—Reina, the demonic bug light.

"Nice one." A voice commented.

I started, looking up. A boy was seated leisurely on the bench, next to me, as if he had been sitting there the entire time. There was a cloth–covered sheath on his lap.

_He must be taking classes in sword-wielding._ I noted mentally.

His hair was a dark brown. When he grinned, his mahogany eyes crinkled.

And he was completely human. Not the killer that Kurama and I were looking for, obviously. Just a strange coincidence.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said warily, slipping on my glove.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not stupid... or blind. You _fried_ that demonic mosquito." He grinned at my staggered expression, then held out his hand for me to shake. "Name's Ryo Takeo."

I reached for his hand. He withdrew it, and I shot him a questioning look.

"You're not going to electrocute me, are you?" He asked, smirking at his joke.

I smiled despite myself, and shook it. "Only works with demons... and my name's Reina. But how did you see...?" I waved to the tiny pile of ashes on the seat of the bench.

He tapped his temple. "Super sixth sense. I can see straight through a demonic disguise, nothing to it."

I grinned. "Well, as you can see... I incinerate demons. Nice to meet you, Ryo."

He _was_ human, but maybe he was allowed to know about the supernatural world that existed around us all. Or he could _see_ it, anyway. It would be hypocritical to reprimand him for it, so I let that errant thought slip away.

He glanced up as a train roared into the station, whistle blaring shrilly. "That's my ride." He said, jumping to his feet. He would only be a few inches taller than me. "See you around, Reina."

I lifted a hand. "Bye..."

* * *

Something poked my side. When I didn't respond, it poked me again, harder.

"Leave me alone, Minamino." I hissed, lifting my head from my arms and giving him a baleful look.

We were in the middle of World Geography, so I spoke in undertone... and in code, using Kurama's human name. But the teacher most likely wouldn't notice. Ever heard of sleepwalking? She sleeptaught. Which, granted, was a good thing for me, considering that I now had to regain a considerable amount of sleep.

All thanks to Kurama.

Last night... this morning, really... another demon had been slaughtered, and left tied to one of the park's trees, that same vicious wounds slashed across his back.

Good news, it was three in the morning and no one in their right minds was awake to see it.

Bad news... it was three in the morning. And apparently, Kurama did _not_ have my definition of a 'right mind.'

And he had scared the _hell_ out of me when he climbed in through my window, just to tell me that another demon had been killed. Because, of course, it couldn't wait until a decent hour.

"Don't fall asleep," he advised in a whisper, tucking the pencil that he had used to prod me with back behind his ear.

"Shut up," I growled. "My sleep is precious to me... and you took it. I deserve to sleep through this class... so leave me alone."

I put my head back down, keeping one eye opened and trained on Kurama. He stared at me, then reached compulsively for the pencil again.

"I _will_ bite you," I snarled under my breath. He just smiled indulgently and turned his attention back to the front of the room.

I closed my eyes and tried to sleep again.

Then something light and crinkly bounced off my head, and landed in the crook of my arm. I shot a glare at Kurama, who was innocently taking notes, and unfolded the tiny slip of paper.

_You have the train station again. If our rouge demon passes through it, we can't afford to miss it. Besides... I think that my aura scares him off. That may be why we haven't glimpsed him yet. Erase this._

I scrubbed out the message, then scribbled venomously in my crappy handwriting,

_That's almost funny, Shuichi. I could've sworn I just read that you wanted me to investigate the train station again. But that couldn't be possible, now could it...?_

I chunked it at his head with a little more force than necessary, but he easily caught it without looking up.

After writing a neat reply, he tossed it lightly, and it landed in the exact center of my desk.

_Quite possible, actually. I do apologize for frightening you last night, though... but I'm curious. What did you first think I was? You had an odd expression on your face..._

I flipped the paper over, grabbing at the chance to avert the conversation from time-consuming investigation, and scrawled across the back,

_I was actually scared that it was one of your fangirls... trying to kill me while I was asleep. They haven't stopped glaring at me since you told Chief that we were dating. _

I allowed myself a private, silent laugh. Ever since Kurama had blatantly lied and told Chief that we were dating, the news had spread through the school like wildfire. I was receiving a lot of glares these days... but, oddly enough, it was almost laughable. Kurama certainly got a kick out of it, smirking every time that Chief shot me a hurt look. Like I had done him a great personal wrong.

My silent amusement was cut short when the note landed neatly in my palm. I opened it.

_You're changing the subject, _it accused.

I sighed, defeated, and wrote,

_Okay, fine. Train station. I get it, Minamino. God._

Then I lobbed it at him.

* * *

"Hey, stranger."

I glanced up swiftly, startled, then let out a surprised laugh.

"You again," I said, smiling, "Ryo, right?"

Ryo grinned and plopped down on the bench next to me. "Yep. What're you doing here again?"

"Patrol," I grumbled, frowning. "One of my friend's ideas..."

"Patrol for what?" He asked, as soon as I realized that I was probably saying too much.

I came up with a hasty lie. "Um... the bugs. You know..." I shrugged.

"Those mammoth mosquitoes?" Ryo asked incredulously. "Sure... they're damn annoying... but they're not dangerous, are they?"

I silently cursed myself. I didn't even know this boy. "Not... really..."

My pocket vibrated. Ryo glanced down at it, and, with a sigh, I pulled out the compact and flipped it open.

"Yes?" I asked Kurama.

"Reina," He said, looking past me, over my shoulder. His gaze flicked worriedly back to mine. "Ah... can he see me?" He asked in undertone, nodding discreetly at Ryo, who was peering (rudely) over my shoulder.

"Yes," I replied, smiling to placate him. "He's a psychic... it's alright. What is it?"

He frowned slightly at my half-assed explanation, but answered regardless. "Have you sensed anything?" His gaze flickered from me to Ryo, obviously uncomfortable with our exchanging conversation in front of him.

"Like a demon?" Ryo asked, leaning forward into my personal space.

"...Yes," Kurama said reluctantly, raising an eyebrow at me. "Reina...?"

"No."

Kurama frowned. "Oh... well—"

"—'Cause I can help," Ryo said, cutting Kurama off. I looked up at him; he nodded encouragingly. "I can sense them too. If you need help... but I would have to know what I'm looking for."

"It's confidential," Kurama said a little sharply, frown deepening.

"...Sorry," he added when I shot him an annoyed look, not looking very sincere about it.

"Hey, that's no problem." Ryo shrugged, backtracking. "I'll just look around with Reina, and she'll get back to you with this..." Ryo tapped the screen of the mirror, "weird... cell phone thing."

"If you know what you're doing..." Kurama hinted, a deceptively pleasant smile on his features. You had to know him to hear the insult in his tone—however slight it was.

Ryo's expression soured. "'Course I do... what're you—"

"-Okay, okay." I interrupted, looking up at Ryo, then down at Kurama. "Simmer it down, you two." I smirked at their expressions. Ryo looked insulted, Kurama slightly amused.

"See you, Kurama."

I flipped the compact shut, then fixed Ryo with a questioning look.

"Alright... where to?"

* * *

**I love writing Ryo. He's such a badass. ;D**

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	10. Case Closed

**Thank you _Wolf-Maiden Mitsuki_ and _Otaku-neku_ for reviewing!**

* * *

_"The final mystery is oneself."_

_-Oscar Wilde_

Case Closed

* * *

"So you can't tell me _why_ we're looking for this demon?" Ryo asked, yet again.

I fixed him with an irritated look. He grinned at it—obviously pleased that he was annoying me. While glaring at him, a tree root tripped me and I stumbled. Ryo's smirk widened.

"No. Like Kurama said, and like I've told you _several_ million times..." I flipped my hair back behind my shoulder, grabbing a rubber band from my wrist to pull in into a knot, "it's confidential."

"Well, I'm just saying..." Ryo shrugged, lacing his fingers behind his head as we walked, "we've walked around this damn forest three times already, but I'm getting nothing. If I _knew_ what I was searching for..."

"It's confidential." I repeated through my teeth. I had no idea that this boy could be so annoying. I was seriously regretting the moment when I informally recruited him to Kurama's and my fruitless investigation. At least Kurama didn't nag. Much.

We walked in silence through the darkening forest, and I squinted up into the setting sun.

"Don't you have to go home or something?" I asked, glancing over at him, still frowning from irritation. "Because I'm going to have to ditch you pretty soon..."

"Yeah," Ryo shrugged again. "I live alone, come and go as I please."

I raised an eyebrow at the guarded tenor of his voice.

"No parents?" I questioned.

Ryo frowned, eyes hardening. He looked away from me, staring—glaring, really—at the foliage surrounding us. The side of his face I could see was taut; his lips turned down into a grimace.

"Nope."

I could tell it was a touchy subject, so I fell silent and didn't pursue it.

* * *

"Are you certain that he can be trusted?" Kurama asked quietly, peering over the table, at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Really, Shuichi—you know better than to question my judgment."

It was the Monday of next week, and we were eating our lunches in the computer lab. I glanced up, and, when I saw Hikari looking at me in a helpless 'what do I do?' fashion from the table next to us, where she sat next to a gleeful Chief. I offered her a pained, apologetic smile.

Hikari hadn't managed to shake off Chief from their last encounte—he had waited outside the bathroom in the park as she had searched frantically for a window to use as an escape.

...Unfortunately, she hadn't found one. Now, seeing their "first date" as a success, Chief didn't leave my poor friend alone for one second. He was currently invading her bubble space at the table adjacent to us.

Kurama touched my shoulder lightly, trying to regain my attention. "Reina..."

"Yes, yes, I'm sure he can be trusted." I replied, sighing heavily at his sobriety and turning back to him.

I stabbed sullenly at my food, and frowned at him. "Honestly, you remind me of my mother..."

* * *

"Just working on some homework, mother," Kurama explained as we walked into his kitchen. "We won't be too much trouble."

"Of course you won't," Shiori beamed, wiping her hands on a dishrag and tossing it, with a damp _plop_, on the counter. "Reina, it's been so long! How are you?"

I smiled. "Great, Ms. Minamino. And you?"

She swooped down on me and embraced me in one surprising motion, then stepped back and laughed, "better than ever! You two can work in the living room—just call if you need anything!"

We exited into the living room, and sat on the couch, spreading our homework between us. That was just a ruse—we were actually splitting up the city again, trying different tactics to catch the renegade demon.

"My mother's... enthusiastic," Kurama explained rather sheepishly, grinning crookedly up at me. "She adores you, really..."

"Oh?" I hesitated in unfolding the map of the city, cocking my head slightly as I looked at him. "Kinda like my mother adores you, huh?"

Kurama opened his mouth to answer, but then I heard the kitchen door slam, and a small boy skidded into the living room.

"Kokoda..." Kurama said, looking up, surprise coloring his tone. "I didn't know that you were coming over today."

I looked up interestedly, hand lifted in the middle of tucking a pencil behind my ear.

The boy, Kokoda, seemed to balk at the sight of me, so I smiled tentatively and raised my hand higher, waving. The boy—he couldn't be more than eleven—flushed.

"Uh... yeah. Dad dropped me off- he needed to go grab something from the store... your mom invited us over for supper..." He trailed off into awkward silence, shuffling his feet nervously.

"This is Reina," Kurama said after a beat, smiling as he gestured to me.

"H-hi."

I smiled. "Hey, Kokoda. Nice to meet you."

"Um..." I felt sorry for the boy as his eyes darted timidly between Kurama and me, "Shuichi... can I use your computer? I-I've got some homework..."

"Of course."

I ended up staying for dinner, after calling my parents for permission. Thankfully, my mom answered—she obviously _loved_ Kurama. But dad, unsurprisingly (because he was, you know, a _dad)_ didn't seem to care for him too much. He probably would've asked me to come home.

"So, Reina, what are you planning on doing when you graduate?" Mr. Hatanaka asked me in a friendly way, looking at me over his glasses.

"I'm not really sure yet," I said slightly taken aback by the question. "I was thinking about something along the lines of visual arts... photography, you know..." I smiled uncertainly as he blinked, "advertising..."

"She's a talented photographer," Kurama offered after a beat of silence, smiling at me on the sly. I returned the smile gratefully. I got the impression that Mr. Hatanaka wasn't impressed with my choice of study.

Mr. Hatanaka smiled in a thoughtful sort of way and nodded. "Well... that's interesting."

"I was planning on maybe double majoring in business, so that I could start up my own someday," I offered. At that, he smiled and nodded.

"That seems like a very good idea, Reina," he said simply, and we continued eating. I glanced over at Kurama, and he offered me a smile of encouragement.

His approval was good enough for me.

* * *

We ended up focusing on the park. Kurama, being a demon, automatically found the place comforting—a sanctuary, so to speak. So we guessed that the demon that we were looking for would find the place welcoming as well.

Kurama was going to circle the woodsy part of the park, keeping an eye on the border. Ryo and I were going to walk straight through the forest, and possibly scare the demon out. I didn't have control of my power yet—I was very far from grasping it—so maybe my presence would annoy the demon enough to send him running.

But if the demon wasn't there, Ryo and I would take the train station again, and Kurama would haunt the park for many days to come.

...So, I hoped this would work.

"When do I get to meet this Kurama guy in person?" Ryo asked, making small talk. We were already deep into the forest, him twirling his sheathed sword in his hands, me struggling (and failing) to widen my aura.

I blew out an angry sigh, letting the tiny bit of my aura I _did_ have some awareness of fade away into the back of my mind. "Does it really matter, Ryo? I'm trying to concentrate."

I ground down on my lip and pulled—with grim resignation—on my unruly spiritual gift. I could sense it widening slightly, sending pulses of mental electricity out into the quiet forest...

Then, it hit something.

"Holy!" I gasped, releasing my aura and spinning around, snatching Ryo's arm. I pointed imperiously in the direction of the obstacle, almost stuttering with surprise. "There! Over there! I sensed something!" I actually _sensed _something!

"C'mon!" Ryo urged, yanking me forward. "The trail curves that way, anyway—let's go!"

"But, what about Kurama—"

Ryo shook his head, grinning widely, from ear to ear.

"We can take 'em." Ryo grinned down at me, letting go of my arm so I could run without being dragged. I tried to match his pace. "Good job, Reina!"

We were close enough now that I could sense the demon sapping on my energy. It was a weaker drain than Kurama—but I was instantly able to zero down on where he was.

That is, in the canopy, above our heads.

"Move!" I bellowed, shoving both of my hands into Ryo's back. With a cry of shock, he slammed into the ground.

I whirled around, peering upwards, crouching automatically, hands clenching into fists. I felt my pupils dilating, heart pounding...

Then, with a feral screech of rage, the demon leaped from the canopy, straight at me.

There was a faint breath of wind, just barely disturbing a few hairs on my head, and a whistling noise just by my ear.

The demon twisted in midair, landing in a completely animal like crouch a few yards away. Its mouth opened in a snarl, fangs glinting dully in the light filtering through the foliage.

"Stay back, Reina. I got this."

Ryo sidestepped me, blocking my view with his back, sword—unsheathed—gripped tightly in his right hand. He took a fighting stance, left foot forward, lifting his sword to point directly at the demon, left arm rising above that.

"Do you need to take it in for questioning or anything like that?" he asked casually as he slowly rotated the tip of his sword in the air, drawing the demon's gaze like a snake charmer attracting the attention of a cobra.

The demon spat a feral snarl at him, but remained crouched.

"I… I don't know. Just wait for Kurama," I said, fumbling for my communicator. I flipped it open, and after a few seconds, Kurama's face appeared on the screen.

"Hey, Kurama, we have a demon cornered here, you need to—"

In that second, the demon leaped forward with a howl.

I jerked sideways with a shout, hitting the ground and rolling out of the way, The demon's claws slashed the air that I had been standing in, and it whirled on me as I scrambled back to my feet. I ripped off a glove and stretched my hand towards it. My fingers sparked with electricity, making the demon hesitate.

"That's right, stay where you are," I snarled, hoping I sounded threatening enough to keep it at bay. "I'll _incinerate_ you."

The demon stared at me for a split second, and then, with one last baleful hiss, darted away.

Ryo bolted past me with an angry shout, one of his arms bloodied. As I watched in muted horror, he caught up with the demon a little ways down the trail and slashed at it with his sword.

The demon howled and fell to the ground, and Ryo slashed at it as it lay there helplessly.

"Ryo!" I shouted, running forward. "That's enough, _stop_…!"

And he did. But the demon did not move.

I took a hesitant step forward.

"Is it... dead?"

Ryo looked back at me, a disparaging smirk on his face. I saw the blade of his sword. It was red, dripping. My stomach lurched.

"'Course it is. See for yourself."

I took several unwilling steps forward, and looked down at the demon.

Three slashes. Running from shoulder to hip.

I looked at Ryo quickly, dread and realization seeping in. Oh. Oh God.

His neck and chin were speckled with the demon's blood, but his face was oddly serene. He stared up into the trees as if reliving a fond memory. There was a faint smile on his features.

He looked down at me.

"Y-you're..." I stammered, backing away, tripping on a tree root and stumbling, eyes darting between him and the demon, "that... renegade demon... the one we've been looking for—"

Ryo turned, frowning in confusion.

Then his eyes widened, mouth popping open in an "o" of realization and horror. Then, in nearly the same instant, his sickened expression glazed over with flat denial, and he took one, ominous step towards me.

My heart lurched into my throat. I scrambled backwards down the trail, unwilling to turn my back and run. Unwilling to leave myself vulnerable.

"S-stay _back_, Ryo!"

"You're not turning me in." His voice was dark, stiff—angry. His advance became faster, hands curling into fists, voice rising in fury. "I've come too far for it to endhere..."

I did the only thing my terror-ridden mind could think of.

Turned, and ran.

"_KURAMA!"_

I ran, hurling myself past my athletic limits, and I could still hear him running behind me. Ryo's breathing was fast, but with vehement anger, not exertion. Closer.

There was no way I was going to outrun him.

"KURAMA!" I yelled for all I was worth, leaping from the path, crashing into the undergrowth. I was smaller than Ryo, maybe that would work.

I could hear Ryo tearing his way through the dense bramble, cursing as thorns cut into him. I knew I was getting attacked by the greenery, too—but I could hardly feel it. Terror numbed me to the pain.

"Kurama, _HELP_—!"

The blow came from behind, heavy, painful—and I let out a strangled cry before the air was knocked from my lungs.

Ryo's hand clamped over my mouth and nose. I clawed at it, trying to kick him, but he didn't move an inch.

I tried to draw a breath.

I couldn't.

Finally, with a burst of adrenaline, I ripped his hand off my mouth, and clamped down on it with vicious force. I tasted blood.

"_Ow_, dammit!" Ryo howled, releasing me. I scurried away from him, raking an arm over my mouth, spitting out his blood—disgusted, yet petrified.

Then...

The grove of trees that surrounded us took on the heat of the sun, flames searing through my veins in a mildly painful—but mostly relieving—inferno.

This wildfire was familiar.

I saw a flash of red—Kurama's hair, then it disappeared.

With it, Ryo.

A second too late, I whipped my head around to stare, wide-eyed, at the scene next to me.

Ryo was pinned against the tree, legs kicking—several feet off the ground—in a futile attempt to break the sudden hold Kurama had on his throat.

I cringed against a tree trunk, trembling despite the raging wildfire boiling through my blood, making me feel like I was being burned alive. Despite that, I felt cold.

Kurama spoke, in a voice that many would judge as friendly, even genial.

"You had better hope—for your sake—that she isn't so much as bruised, _boy_," he murmured.

There was a long silence, during which I gasped for breath, not moving an inch from my crouched position against the tree. I shivered from the barely recognizable malice in Kurama's voice—I had never seen him so… _demonic_.

Though I knew he was completely in control of himself—his subtly infuriated voice sent chills racing down my spine.

...Such precise fury terrified me more than Ryo ever could.

Ryo choked for air, fingers scrabbling at the stranglehold Kurama had on his windpipe, unable to make a sound.

"Kurama… _stop_. You're killing him. Stop, please." He didn't respond. I picked myself up off the ground and bolted over to him, grabbing him by the arm that was holding Ryo, tugging at it desperately.

"I'm not hurt! Let him _go_!"

He looked sharply down at me, saw my expression. His face was hardened, the barely defined fury more obvious in his features. Then, the anger written there vanished entirely, smoothing out into a shocked look.

"Reina..."

I heard a soft _thump_, then suddenly his arms were around me, voice whispering urgently in my ear, sending fire through my veins.

"I wasn't going to, Reina… don't. It's okay."

I twisted away from him, sinking into a crouch next to a motionless Ryo. I grabbed his wrist, pressing my thumb into it.

There...!

A faint pulse, but it was there, steady.

I breathed out a shaky sigh, relieved. "He's alive."

Above me, Kurama was still whispering. "Reina, I..."

"Just... don't say anything." The calm tenor of my voice surprised me. "Call Botan and tell her that we found the Vigilante."

* * *

"So... why did you do it?"

Ryo glowered at me. "That's none of your business," he said shortly, and waved to his bedroom door, to the window, where thin, glowing webs glinted dully in their own faint luminescence.

"I was kinda hoping that you were gonna bail me outta here."

The webs were Reikai's version of an ankle bracelet. As soon as Ryo passed through them, the webs would attach themselves to him, keeping him under tracking surveillance. Because Ryo was human, like me, he couldn't go on trial for his misdemeanors. So the Spirit World used the Tracking Web to keep an eye on him.

It was a week after Ryo's capture, and he was finished recovering from his encounter with an irate Kurama. Now, he was just irritated.

I shook my head in answer to his statement, and to clear my thoughts. "Ryo... you attacked me, and seriously ticked off my friend—"

"Your _demon_ friend," Ryo muttered sullenly.

I frowned. "So surely you understand that bailing you out is the _last_ thing on my to-do list."

"Whatever," Ryo grumbled, flopping down on his bed and glaring at me. "If you're here just to tell me that I should be _ashamed_ of myself," his voice became mocking, "then just get out. I don't have to listen to you."

I stood from my chair, stung. "Fine," I said, walking to his door and opening it. My arm passed through the Tracking Web without disturbing it—it would only attach to Ryo. I shot an insult back over my shoulder. "I'm gone, _delinquent_."

"Good riddance!" Ryo called out after me, and I closed his door with a little more force than was necessary.

"You certainly know how to pick them," Kurama observed bluntly, a tiny edge of sarcasm in his voice. He shrugged away from the wall he had been leaning against—waiting for me—and started walking down the hall.

"Care to explain what you're insinuating?" I said acidly, struggling to fall into step next to him.

But, before he could answer, a blue blur came skidding around the corner, then slammed into me.

"Botan?" I gasped, regaining my balance with Kurama's help. "What—?"

"It's an emergency!" Botan cried urgently, grabbing my wrist, spinning around and yanking me after her. "We've just found out where the Makai insects are coming from—and it isn't good!"

* * *

**So… I'm pretty sure this technically _isn't_ my third chapter in one day… but still. THREE CHAPTERS, BACK TO BACK.**

**You should be proud of me. XD**


	11. Invasion

**Thank you _Wolf-Maiden Mitsuki, __Otaku-neku_, _Shadow Ice Maiden_, _MizuKaji_, and _unknown player_ for reviewing!**

* * *

_"What do you do when the infection hits you, when it takes over? Do you do what you're supposed to and take your medicine? Or do you learn to live with the thing and hope someday it goes away? Or do you just give up entirely and let it kill you?"_

-Meredith, Grey's Anatomy

Invasion

* * *

The entire city is in danger!" Botan explained breathlessly, as we darted through the mid- afternoon crowds, scattering pedestrians.

"But where are we _going?"_

Botan ignored me. "The insects have gained enough strength to possess humans, and that points to a major barrier breach. All of this, just because Lord Koenma denied passage to the Four Saint Beasts..."

"You—lost me—there," I managed, a gloved hand pressed against the stitch in my side, gasping for air. "How far...?"

All of this in a week. Finding out Ryo was our renegade demon, and now, apparently—the demonic bug infestation had reached a critical point. Too much.

After sending Kurama off with a command to 'go find Hiei!', Botan had jerked me out of the building and started running. And, for some reason, she was holding a baseball bat. I was wary of that—the Grim Reaper wielding a bat. I wondered stupidly what had happened to the scythe.

"_Where_ are we going?" I repeated a little more forcefully, swiping at Botan's arm, to catch her attention, and missing.

Botan spared me a glance. "Recruitment. Remember, six months ago- your encounter with Hiei and the Jagan Eye...?"

I suppressed the urge to shudder, elbowing my way past a cursing man with a briefcase, and nodded. I didn't want to waste my breath answering—I was tired enough as it was.

"There was a boy there; his name Yusuke." Botan skidded to a stop, ducking into an alleyway. I followed her, and we leaned against the wall for a second, catching our breath.

"Oh, yeah," I remembered, gasping for air. "That boy that Kurama took a sword in the gut for... the Spirit Detective?"

Botan nodded feebly, wiping sweat off her forehead. "In order to stop the mission, I'm sending him, Kurama, and Hiei to Makai. We need all the help we can get—because they need to take out the _source_. And that's going to be difficult. Hold this."

She offered me the bat, and I hesitated, gaping openmouthed at her.

"Just how difficult is it going to be for them...?" I asked weakly, taking it from her.

She didn't hear me. She was consulting a circular beeping thing.

"Yes, this is about it," she said to herself, flipping the object closed and tucking it into her pocket. She gave me a frustrated look.

"If your power was controllable, then I would send you with them. But the place they're going to is a demonic world. If you set one foot on the demon plane, the world itself would kill you." She eyed me, frowning.

I cringed inwardly, abashed. "I'm working on it," I muttered, scuffing the concrete with the toe of my shoe.

In my peripheral, I saw Botan start. "Oh, I don't blame you," She said, smiling genially, "it's just rather annoying that your spiritual power took its time manifesting..."

Then, suddenly, she leaped at me. Before I could flinch, she jerked the baseball bat from my hands, then pirouetted, swinging it around with vicious force.

_THUNK._

I gawked down at the figure as it fell, not sure that I could trust the scene before me. Surely _Botan_, the chipper Grim Reaper, couldn't be capable of such violence.

I looked up as I heard two pairs of feet approaching. Two boys skidded around the corner, one tripping slightly over the fallen figure, and hurriedly regaining his balance.

"Now _that_ is teamwork," Botan said approvingly, tapping the bat on her shoulder, quirking an eyebrow at the new arrivals and smirking.

"Botan?" one of them said, not looking very happy to see her. In fact, he flinched away from Botan as if the sight of her was terrifying. He was wearing a green jumpsuit; his black hair slicked back out of his face.

"Hey... it's the pretty girl!" the other boy said, ogling Botan. "Have ya thought about me...?"

Botan glossed over the comment, all business. "I've been shadowing _that_ one since he slipped through the barrier two days ago."

The Green Jumpsuit, the boy who I vaguely recognized to be Yusuke, blurted, pointing at me, "Hey, you're that chick who helped out Keiko awhile back, right?"

I smiled. "Yep."

After glancing at me, the taller boy in the blue jumpsuit looked down at the demon (its aura was faint, but definitely there), and wondered, "So... uh... what is it?"

"He looks like he grew up too close to a nuclear plant," Yusuke observed tactfully, eyeing the demon with disgust.

Botan shook her head. "...I'm quite sure he's a spy from where you're going on your next mission," Botan said thoughtfully, prodding the demon with the end of the bat.

"Okay, Botan! You can stop _right there!"_ Yusuke snarled, glaring at her. "I got back from Grandma's evil boot camp today, and I deserve a _vacation._" He turned away, voice rising. "Why don't you call back in two years?"

Then he stalked off, hands shoved deep into his pockets. Botan, the other boy, and I turned to stare after him.

"Then I guess you don't mind everyone in the city being turned into a zombie?" Botan shot after Yusuke, hand clenching angrily around the handle of the bat. I wondered idly if I would have to take it from her, before she decided to use it on Yusuke. Which, judging by the glare she was sending at his back, wasn't very unlikely.

Yusuke paused, and glanced over his shoulder. "Does that question have a point?" he rebutted sarcastically.

Botan relaxed slightly. "If you'll wait, I'll tell you." Botan leaned the bat against the alley wall, and heaved a sigh. "Lord Koenma received a message yesterday... it was sent by an agent, much like the one we just dispatched..."

I poked the demon with my foot for emphasis. The other boy shuddered.

"In short, the Four Saint Beasts requested passage into the Living World. And... well..." Botan paused, grimacing slightly. Yusuke waited for her to finish, then spoke up.

"Okay, but if Koenma's in charge, I don't see what all the fuss is about," Yusuke grumbled, lifting an eyebrow, "Can't he just tell 'em to go to hell?" He frowned. "And who're these 'Four Saint Beast' guys, anyway?" Yusuke turned completely around, crossing his arms, waiting—and listening—grudgingly.

Botan's features darkened. "The four of the most notorious criminals in all of the Spirit World. They were put away years ago, locked up inside a fortress in Makai. A city formed around it—a city of ghosts and apparitions."

Then she turned, and walked down the alleyway. After a beat and a backwards glance at the two boys, I followed her.

"Hey, aren't you gonna finish your story?" Yusuke called after us, irritated. I heard them follow us.

We turned a corner, and I balked. There was a group of boys lying on the ground, faces pale—almost a blue color. I wondered in horror if they were dead.

"Why don't you take a look at these boys you knocked out?" Botan asked Yusuke, pointing at the unconscious lumps.

I edged forward a few steps forward with the boys, and peered closely at the kid that Botan indicated.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then a Makai insect crawled out of the unconscious boy's mouth.

There was a collective _"EWWW!" _from all watching, complete with retching noises from the guys.

"Ugh!" Yusuke said, disgust plain on his features and in his tone. "Tell me I didn't just see a bug crawl up his throat!"

"Okay, fine," I replied, holding back my lunch (with some difficulty) and watching with revolted fascination as the insect lit off the boy's lips and buzzed in the air over our heads, "you didn't see a bug crawl up his throat. Does that make you feel any better?"

Yusuke turned towards me, mouth open in an angry retort, but Botan cut him off.

"It's called a Makai insect," Botan said, eyes following the bug as it twisted lazily through the air in front of her. "A parasite from the darkest parts of the Spirit World. They bury themselves under the skin and nurture the host's most primal desires."

The other boy gagged, face turning as red as his hair.

"You don't have to give us all the gory details, Botan..." I mumbled weakly, taking a careful step away from the pallid, unconscious boy, in case any more of the demonic insects decided to crawl out and keep us company. As an extra measure, I grabbed the fingers of the glove on my left arm and tugged, slipping it off, eyes on the bug still buzzing incessantly about us.

Botan ignored me and continued: "Minds occupied by this parasite develop the need for destruction, physical power, and murder." She paused to let this sink in.

"It'll be a disaster," She finished simply, when we didn't say anything, as if that wasn't entirely obvious to all listening.

Yusuke spoke up. "Well, can't we tell people? I mean..." Yusuke glanced down at the boy, "there's gotta be a cure..."

"There is," Botan gestured to me with one hand. Yusuke and the other boy exchanged a confused glance, one that I mirrored. "But normal people can't see the insects... the inflicted will be merely seen as nearly psychotic, and I'm afraid the cure will be the last thing on the humans' minds..." She bowed her head, heaving a weary sigh.

"Then what the hell are we supposed to _do?"_ Yusuke burst out.

Botan looked up. "The only way to rescue the city is to kill the Makai insects, and the only way to _that_ is to destroy the Whistle, which the enemies possess..."

"A whistle?" Yusuke asked incredulously.

Botan made a noise of assent. "Without the whistle's frequency, the insects can't live outside of the Demon World."

We exchanged glances.

Yusuke's dubious expression conformed into one of deep thought. "So... how long do we have before these "Beasts" leave their castle and come to our world themselves?"

"At this point, they can't," Botan replied, shaking her head. "For years we've had them trapped inside their city with the barrier wall. But now with the threat of the insect invasion, they hope to force us to open the barrier."

"I see... so they give you the whistle... if you open up the wall," Yusuke said, understanding.

Botan's voice became serious. "Instead, we're going to put a breach in the wall to let you through."

Yusuke's expression became grim. "And what happens if I can't beat them?"

Botan gave him a long look. "I don't think I have to tell you what'll happen if all the demons from that city were unleashed on earth," she said, her eyes ancient with sadness.

We stood in silence for a moment.

"But I don't see how Koenma expects _me_ to take on an entire _city_ of demons!" Yusuke vented angrily. "Don't they send... I dunno... _teams_ out for this kinda thing...?"

"What about me, Urameshi?"

We all turned, startled, to see who had spoken.

It was the other boy. He had apparently been listening the entire time... and we had forgotten about him.

"Ah..." Botan said nervously, waving her hands frantically, "Oh, Kuwabara, there's no such thing as _demons_," she laughed nervously, "Yusuke and I were just... erm... _joking_, that's it, ha ha...!"

"Look, I'm not dumb," Kuwabara complained, disgruntled. Botan stopped giggling hysterically and listened. Kuwabara looked down, where the bug was currently hovering over one of the boy's pallid faces. "Or blind."

The bug flew up into the air, and Kuwabara caught it with his hand, giving us each a hard look. "We all know that I can see supernatural stuff a whole lot better than Yusuke, and I'm not gonna _sit around_ while Yusuke doesn't see things and lets big monsters and bugs take over _my_ city!"

His voice rose. "'Cause _I'm_ Kuwabara, and in case you all forgot, I've got a _sword!"_

There was a long silence. I came to the conclusion that I had missed something, and wasn't entirely sure that I wanted to know. Kuwabara looked around the circle, grinning, and I offered him a faint smile. Botan sighed, looking stumped.

"Well... I guess there's no arguing with the eager..." she said resignedly, glancing at Yusuke.

Kuwabara opened his hand, grimacing with disgust, and the bug flew out of it.

In a quick, unconscious motion, I leaped forward and snatched it out of the air with my bare hand, right under Kuwabara's nose.

There was a tiny _zapping_ noise, a flash of blue light, and I opened my hand, assessing the ashes. Then I tilted my hand and the bug's incinerated remains drifted from my palm, to the ground, where I scrubbed them out with my foot.

"Whoa..." Yusuke said, gaping at my hand.

"You _fried _it!" Kuwabara exclaimed, eyes fairly bugging out of his head, cross-eyed from staring down at my fingers.

I shook the ashes from my fingertips, and looked up at them. "I do that sometimes," I said, shrugging nonchalantly, slipping my glove back over my arm. Yusuke and Kuwabara gawped at me. I sighed.

"Where to, Botan?"

* * *

With a grunt, Botan pulled open the door. A cloud of grime rushed out at us, and I sucked in a lungful before I caught myself. Behind me, I heard Yusuke and Kuwabara hacking up the dirt just as heavily as I was.

"Watch for dust," Botan advised breezily, stepping down onto the step below us and disappearing into the gloom.

"Thanks for the warning," Yusuke and I shot back sarcastically.

I took a step forward.

Now, I would've followed Botan—I really would've. I wasn't scared of the dark or any of the vermin that was sure to be lurking down into this hole Botan had brought us to.

But I froze automatically...

…From the wall of fiery aura lingering just beyond the doorway.

Yusuke brushed past me with a sullen look, hands in his pockets, but Kuwabara paused and gestured me forward.

"Ladies first, Sparky."

I looked up, lifting an eyebrow and frowning anxiously at the same time. "Um... there's a... erm..." I hesitated, at loss for words. Though not getting a complete read on it, because there was _no way_ I was going down there, I could tell that the aura was enormous.

"Yeah, that's a mean aura," Kuwabara agreed, understanding my wordlessness.

I laughed nervously. "Yeah. But, question... 'Sparky'...?"

Kuwabara grinned. "Didn't catch your name, and it fits, right? 'Cause you made sparks fly when you grabbed that bug."

I blinked. "Oh," I said, then frowned. "It's Reina..."

"See ya, Sparky!" Kuwabara called back to me, already halfway down the stairs. I started to follow, then hesitated, deliberating. Eliminate idiotic nickname or be burned alive...?

Not a hard choice.

"The gate to the breach should be _somewhere_ down here," I heard Botan's voice say. There was a beat of silence. "Reina?" She called worriedly.

I put one foot down on the first step, then jerked it back, the intense heat searing up my leg.

"Um... the portal's definitely down there," I called weakly.

"Oh." Botan paused. "I understand—you don't have to come down here."

"Thanks," I replied gratefully, hovering by the door. "Just yell if you need me."

"Will do."

I waited a few minutes more, shuffling my feet across the concrete, then felt something.

I spun around, hand flying to my throat, my wildfire alert raging at signs of passage too faint for my ears to hear, too swift for my eyes to see.

I laughed once, nervously.

"Hey, Kurama…"

He smiled down at me. "It seems that we made it to the right place," he observed, nodding in greeting.

"We" consisted of Kurama… and the malevolent midget demon, Hiei, who was currently glaring up at me from his less-than-lofty position at Kurama's elbow.

A flicker of flame seared through my bloodstream, and coupled with Kurama's familiar aura, it was almost shudder-worthy. I hurriedly averted my gaze and returned Kurama's smile with a little less sincerity.

Hiei, I guessed, was watching where he pointed that third eye of his a little more carefully when Kurama was around. But I still took a casual, precautionary step back.

"You haven't been formally introduced," Kurama said, after a second of awkward silence. "Reina, this is Hiei... Hiei, Rei—"

"—I already know the human's name, Kurama," Hiei interrupted shortly, glowering at me. "Though, either way, it doesn't matter to me in the slightest."

I returned his venomous look, trying to match his level of obvious hatred but not coming very close. "Then why waste your breath explaining how little introductions mean to you?" I argued hotly.

His eyes narrowed. A surge of flame enveloped me. "In case it wasn't entirely obvious to you, human—which I don't doubt—I was speaking to the only person here worthy of intelligent conversation. In terms that even _you_ may understand… not you."

I smirked. "Then I supposed I should be honored that you spent several seconds of your life insulting my intelligence, demon," I retorted smartly, sweeping a mock curtsy.

The glare increased in intensity. "Hn."

There was an amused sort of smile playing on Kurama's lips. "Well, Reina… where are the others?"

In reply, I jerked my thumb over my shoulder, at the open door. "Down there. Apparently, that's where you guys get into the demon city." My nose wrinkled as I remembered the latent—but devastating—aura.

At that moment, Botan emerged from the warehouse, looking disheveled and annoyed. "Well, the boys are in," she informed us. "So that only leaves you two…"

"What's going on?" Kurama asked.

Botan explained the situation hurriedly, while Kurama and Hiei listened—Kurama with a placid, focused expression, Hiei alternating between his Normal Glare and his Death Glare.

...In other words, looking between Botan and me. Kurama had told me once that my defense was 'more annoying than anything'. So I suspected that I was getting on Hiei's nerves. Good.

"Well, if that's the case, you two will be left unprotected…" Kurama said, frowning down at me, after Botan finished.

I reached up, slipping off my glove, to grab a Makai insect that had been buzzing over our heads during the course of Botan's explanation. It was reduced to ashes in a heartbeat, and I lifted an eyebrow at Kurama.

"You were saying…?"

Kurama opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off.

"Listen, my power may be pitiful, at best…" I quoted Hiei from my very first encounter with him, and smirked inwardly as the midget shot me a look that wished me immediate and deadly harm, "…but I can handle these insects. Go, help Yusuke and Kuwabara."

Without a word, Hiei stepped past me—making my blood boil for a single second, then disappeared into the warehouse. Botan stared after him, then turned away, wordlessly gesturing for me to follow her. And, with a parting smile, Kurama started down the stairs.

It came suddenly, overwhelming me, scrambling my thoughts and turning my blood to ice, despite the flames smoldering through my veins.

Pure, unaltered dread.

"Wait!" I gasped breathlessly, lurching forward a step towards Kurama's retreating back, something deep in my gut wrenching painfully.

My calm façade had dropped like a stone, and I had no idea where it had gone.

Kurama paused, turned halfway around, and looked up at me. "Yes?" He replied gently, eyes carefully noting my panicked expression with a look that I couldn't read.

I took a calming breath, letting my outstretched hand fall to my side.

"Just… be careful, okay?" I begged hoarsely, wringing my hands, eyes pleading. It was totally irrational, rushing over me with no warning whatsoever—but I _feared_, suddenly, wildly, if I would see him again. This could be the last time… and that thought was terrifying.

His confused look smoothed out, and he stepped back up to my level, gazing down at me kindly, and lifted a hand to rest on my shoulder.

"Don't spend a moment worrying about me," he said, eyes boring into mine, shaking my shoulder gently for emphasis. "Because… I'll be fine. Spend more time worrying about yourself." He paused, then added hesitantly, "Can you do that… for me?"

I nodded. "Yes."

He smiled, eyes distant and thoughtful, and let his hand fall. "Then… see you in a few, Reina."

"Right," I whispered. "See you…"

And, as he turned away with a small wave, a single backwards glance, I realized that what had just taken place was not a simple goodbye. Some unspoken message convinced me it was something more.

And something in his eyes told me that he had come to the same conclusion.

I wasn't sure of how I felt about that.

* * *

After sending the boys off, Botan retrieved her bat and we started scouring the city for the insects. The search took much of the afternoon.

We also caught another spy from the demon city.

I sensed it near Meiou High, and we shadowed it until it got curious and turned around to attack us. Then we called the guys to check up.

"The _real_ trouble is finding the Makai insects," Botan explained, after knocking the spy out for a second time.

I nodded in agreement, peering over her shoulder. "Their auras are too faint for me to sense, so we just have to keep an eye out for them. We've caught fifteen so far..."

"Fifteen? That's not much help!" Yusuke complained.

"Yusuke, finding people controlled by the..." Botan turned and popped the spy, who was getting up again, another good one, "_insects_ takes time! That's why you need to find that whistle."

"Well, the castle's kinda tough," Yusuke grumbled.

"Of course it is," Botan replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "No one survives the four." Then she shut the communication mirror, then started, a Makai insect buzzing in her face. "Hey! I see you!" She whipped out a can of Spirit World bug spray (which we tried to use more often then my defense), and shot it out of the air. With a satisfied nod, she pocketed the demonic insect repellent.

"'No one survives the four'?" I repeated, frowning. "Botan, try to keep the optimism up, why don't you...?"

It only got worse.

We found a horde of the insects by an elementary school, and after using up several cans of spray, we resorted to using my power exclusively.

"You've got to hurry!" Botan had told Yusuke, anxiously knotting her brow as I resignedly incinerated four more of the parasitic demons, "I think the Four Saint Beasts have sent another _wave_ of the insects!"

...That was also when we were first attacked by a Makai insect-possessed human.

After knocking it out with the bat, Botan wrapped up our mirror-to-mirror conversation with a simple, _"Hurry!"_

...And it only got even worse.

The mayor declared a riot alert, thinking the demon-possessed people merely insane. There were just too many of them for just Botan and I to fight, and we had already had several close calls. We relayed this information to the boys, who apparently hadn't reached Botan's level of expectation.

"We _just_ killed the _second_ Saint Beast!" Yusuke yelled back at her. "You expected us to be on the _third? _ These guys are tough, you know!"

"I know, I know!" Botan pleaded. "But there are so many of them now! We need you to destroy the Whistle, and fast!"

* * *

"...What are they doing?" I whispered to Botan, watching the scene (with wary confusion) in front of us.

There was a mob of the possessed humans in front of a school that we had ended up wandering to. They were circling it, staggering in their zombie-like way. It was almost like...

"...Almost like they're... patrolling..." I voiced slowly, glancing up at her. "But, earlier, weren't they tearing each other apart? Now they're coexisting..."

Botan's eyes unfocused as she thought. Then she gasped, and stared down at me with horror-filled eyes. Several things had obviously fallen into place, and, judging by her expression, it wasn't good.

At all.

"The enemy must know Yusuke better than we thought!" She exclaimed, voice rising in dismay. "They're after _Keiko_!"

* * *

**Another day, another chapter. I'm seeing the next one getting done today as well, haha. Until then, leave me a review and tell me how you like the editing (or, if you're new to this story, let me know how you like it so far!) I love your feedback. :)**


	12. Instinctively

**As I progress further into my old story, I find I have to edit less and less. Thus, all of these chapters. It makes my life very easy :)**

**Hope you like it!**

* * *

_"What an excellent day for exorcism."_

_-Regan_

Instinctively

* * *

"Yusuke _said_ that he left her at the movie theatre!" Botan said distractedly, head whipping back and forth, searching. Then she spun around, taking my arm, and jerked us into the shadows of an alleyway, clamping a hand over my mouth.

A group of pallid, bug-possessed humans lumbered past us, mumbling incoherently to themselves, movements disjointed.

We waited, with baited breath, until they staggered out of sight.

"This is terrible…" Botan murmured, hand slipping off my mouth, stepping cautiously out into the street. I made a small noise of agreement.

"C'mon," Botan said, motioning to me. "Maybe Keiko's at the school…"

Several things happened at once.

I stepped carefully out of the alley, looking about me in search of the human zombies. We had knocked out several so far—me exorcising the insects out of them when they were properly dispatched. So now it was a reflex to check for them, at every turn.

I didn't have to look very far.

One of them stood behind Botan, arms uplifted…

…Wielding a crowbar.

"_Watch it!"_ I yelled, diving at Botan, shoving her into the pavement. Momentum carried me forward, rolling, and the crowbar shattered the sidewalk, inches from my nose. With a cry, I rolled away, hearing the crowbar slam into the concrete where I had been sprawled a second ago, and scrambled to my feet.

Botan lay, frozen, between the possessed innocent and me. The innocent lifted the crowbar again, red-glazed eyes glinting in malice, and Botan screamed.

Not exactly sure about what the hell I was getting myself into, I launched myself through the air, grappling for the weapon.

The bug-possessed human gave up the crowbar for my throat, but before his fingers could find purchase, something completely unexpected—but not entirely unwelcome—happened.

As soon as the zombie's fingers closed around the bare skin of my throat, there as a shock of blue light, a high-pitched keen, and he collapsed.

I watched, stunned beyond disgust, as a Makai insect crawled out of the innocent's mouth, wings trembling—then it rolled over, dead.

There was a long moment of silence.

"Well, _that's_ shocking!" Botan observed appreciatively, rising to her feet.

"Heh..." I said weakly, falling to my knees beside the human. I checked his pulse, then rocked back on my heels, and looked up at Botan. A nervous, hysterical laugh escaped my lips. Botan eyed me like I was insane.

"Are you... alright?" She asked warily.

"Um..." I glanced down at the human, back up at Botan. "Yeah," my voice was surprised. "I'm not tired at all... just like zapping a bug by itself..."

Botan blinked. "Well, that's good. Better than I expected, actually—I figured that you could exorcise the insects, but not without a serious loss in energy..." She held out a hand to help me up, and I took it.

"So that's what you meant earlier," I realized, rising to my feet. "About 'the cure'...?"

She nodded, eyes troubled, letting her hand fall to her side. "Yes. But it's only a matter of time before the enemy finds out about your power... so we have to be careful. Let's go."

* * *

We searched the perimeter of the school frantically for Keiko, keeping a low profile because of the possessed humans. I only played exorcist on the sly, when we caught a bug-influenced innocent by surprise, and only when they were alone.

"They're still searching," Botan whispered bleakly, peering carefully through the green foliage that concealed us.

We were currently crouching behind the bushes that bordered Keiko's school, trying to find a safe way in. But the place was crawling with the Makai insects' hosts… and they had the same exact thing in mind. Find Keiko, and probably find and kill me, too.

"Do you think…" I said, looking up at Botan speculatively.

But, for some odd reason, she was flailing halfway through the greenery, feet kicking inches from my head. I batted them out of my face, then jerked her back into our hiding spot.

With her, a very disheveled Keiko.

Keiko stopped struggling after Botan let her hand fall from her mouth, then looked between us with a confused expression. Then she did a double take.

"Oh… you're Botan, right?" Keiko said slowly, in undertone. She shot me a questioning look.

"I'm Reina," I said, waving a little, a sympathetic smile on my face. I pitied anyone that Botan decided to kidnap… even if we were saving her by doing so.

Keiko nodded. "I'm Keiko," she introduced, obviously not remembering me. It had been six months ago since i last saw her, and she had been unconscious besides… "Nice to meet you."

Botan shook the leaves from her hair, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the communication mirror. She flipped it open, and pressed a button.

"What _now?"_ Yusuke growled.

Keiko and I peeked over Botan's shoulder. I waved; Keiko started, hand flying to her mouth.

"Ack…! Keiko?" Yusuke cried, flinching, eyes wide.

"Yes, we've got her," Botan replied, glossing over Yusuke's horror. I saw Kurama and Kuwabara's faces behind Yusuke's—Kuwabara interested, Kurama looking oddly relieved. "but… I'm afraid that I have some bad news…"

Botan's voice dropped, and we all leaned forward to hear her, "It seems that all of the infected humans in the city are looking for Keiko… and I don't think they want to talk!"

"What?" Yusuke asked flatly.

I leaned in, wrestling a disarming smile on my face. "Don't worry, Yusuke—they won't touch her." I lifted my fingers in view of the mirror, waving them, and promised grimly, "Not if I can help it."

Botan turned on me. "Surely you didn't forget that they're after you, too, Reina!" She exclaimed reproachfully. Traitor.

"_What?"_ Yusuke and Kurama chorused.

"Now _why_ would you go tell them that, Boran?" I muttered. I looked at Kurama and Yusuke. "Listen, I've got my power," I told them frustratedly. Kurama gave me a half-aggravated, half-concerned look. "So—don't look at me like that! I'll be fine, trust me. We all will."

A faint flicker of flame entered my mind, and I spun around, heart somewhere in my throat, eyes wide and mouth open in a cry of warning.

With a wordless roar, one of the human zombies drew back his arm, hand clenched into a fist, features construed into something feral and terrifying.

"_RUN!"_ I yelled, and shoved Botan out of the way. She and Keiko collided in a tangle of screaming limbs, and disappeared through the bushes.

Rubble and dust rained down on me as the innocent's fist slammed into the concrete wall, pulverizing it.

I scuttled out of the way, dove through the bushes, and ran.

Shit, they had separated us.

I scampered around the corner and slid to a stop as a group of three innocents advanced on me.

I looked around quickly, and saw a door. Sprinting, I reached it and grabbed the handle, yanking. Thankfully, it was unlocked, and I scurried inside as the innocents gave chase.

I whirled and threw the lock, staggering back as they hammered their fists on the door, howling in rage. No doubt they would break through soon. I whirled and ran, entering a (thankfully) deserted hallway. I saw classrooms lining the hallway on my left, so I sprinted over there, trying each door.

Every one was locked.

Behind me, I heard the door I had locked earlier give way, and I lunged for the teacher's lounge.

Thankfully, it was open. I stumbled in.

"Botan! Keiko!"

They spun as one, Botan raising her fists in defense. When they saw it was me, they ran over.

"Are you okay?" Keiko demanded.

"Yeah, I'm fine—what about you?"

"We got away just fine," Botan said. "Now we're just hiding…"

A low moan made us all spin in unison, startled.

A human-shaped lump was sitting slouched in a chair at a table on the other side of the room, his torso splayed across the table. Keiko broke into a run, and we followed her.

"Mr. Takenaka!" Keiko too the man's shoulder, shaking it. "Mr. Takenaka...!"

He slumped forward. I heard Keiko and Botan gasp. I might've, too.

The man's face was a mass of purple and blue, swollen. His mouth sagged open, and I saw that several of his teeth were missing.

"They already got to him..." I murmured, stepping forward. I took Keiko and Botan's arms, and tugged. "Guys, c'mon... let's go..."

"Not yet!" A voice growled, in my ear.

Something took my shoulder in an iron grip. I cried out and released Keiko and Botan, clawing at it with gloved fingers.

My companions turned and cringed in a single movement. I felt my blood run cold as I struggled against the person holding me.

"Run...!" I ordered, attempting to elbow the zombie, and failing when he caught my arm in his other hand.

"Reina, close your eyes!" Botan said in a panicked voice, whipping the demon bug spray out of her jacket, shoving Keiko behind her.

I obeyed, twisting away, and suddenly the zombie howled, releasing me. Someone took my arm, and pulled me away. My eyes snapped open and I stumbled after Botan, reaching out and dragging Keiko behind me.

We left the innocent writhing on the floor, clawing his eyes.

We sprinted through the school. I hoped that Botan knew where she was going—because I could sense them now. So many... all around us.

Everywhere.

Blocking our escape from all sides, closing in on us.

I suddenly wished for Kurama.

Where was that demon when you needed him most...?

* * *

**Kurama's POV**

Static was all I saw.

My mind numbed at the sight, disbelieving. I wanted to scream at the flimsy, tiny, worthless connection that I had to her, to _force_ the damn thing to clear out and show me that they were alright. To have Reina's face pop up on the screen, blushing embarrassedly as she admitted to dropping their mirror, or a relieving _something_ along those lines...

But I knew it would do no good.

And Yusuke was screaming for me.

"Keiko! Botan! Reina...! _Pick up,_ Goddammit...!" He yelled, shaking the blank mirror, cursing it. _"C'mon...!"_

I couldn't look at it anymore. I stared unseeingly at the ground.

_I should have never left..._

* * *

**Reina's POV**

"We're all reasonably athletic girls with a decent pair of fists, right...?" Botan said nervously, back pressed seamlessly against the stretch of wall that they had us cornered in.

I forced a grim smile, and, in my peripheral, saw Keiko do the same.

"Yeah," I said, not taking my eyes off the mob of infected humans blocking our way... glazed stares fixed on us, waiting.

"Then there's no reason that we can't... fight our way out of this, right...?" Botan said, optimistic as ever, though her voice quavered.

"None!" Keiko replied with a weak attempt at cheer, forcing a smile. I swallowed once, then locked gazes with each of them in turn, and slipped off my gloves. They fell to the floor.

I took a breath, and smiled. "I'm glad I met you both... so let's not die, alright...?

* * *

**Kurama's POV**

The whip was invisible as it whistled through the air, lashing out in a circle and taking out dozens of foes at once. Their stale blood flew into the air, arcing in a strangely satisfying, oddly beautiful pattern.

I felt a grim smile slide onto my features as I turned and took out a dozen more.

* * *

**Reina's POV**

The glass cracked, then shattered. The shards rained down on us, stinging my bare arms.

The scissors came again and again, violent, deadly. The door groaned on its hinges.

"Yusuke..." I heard Keiko whimper.

_WHAM._

_WHAM._

"Here, let me get in front of you..." Botan tried to step around me. I shook my head.

"No. I've got this, Botan. Stay back..."

My eyes sought an escape. Nothing. A barred window, a row of lockers. Nothing useful. I felt my heart sink as I stared at the lockers. My denial was gone. _We_ were gone...

Wait.

"Keiko," I said, turning on her. "I have an idea. Give me your scarf..."

We each grabbed a broom from the supply closet in the corner of the room, and hid in the curtains that obscured the blocked window.

I ran over to on of the lockers and tucked Keiko's scarf in one of the slots. Then I darted behind the curtains with the other two.

After ducking into the hiding spot, I heard the door cave in with a crash. We all froze.

The mob swarmed in and circled the locker, mumbling appreciatively to themselves. I heard several of them laugh, and shuddered along with Botan and Keiko. My fingers tightened around the handle of my mop, tensing.

With a collective roar, the infected humans took up brooms and mops of their own, and proceeded to destroy the locker. I winced nervously at every blow; that could've been us, and I realized that was what they were _planning_ to do if they _did_ catch us.

The scarf drifted to the ground, and one of the locker's twisted doors swung open crookedly, revealing...

"Nothing there," Botan said cheerily, stepping out from behind the curtains. Then, without a change in her genial expression, she drew back her broom and slammed one of the zombies in the face. It fell silently to the ground.

"_Go!"_ I bellowed, leaping out from my hiding place, swinging my mop in a wide circle at the scattering innocents. In a flurry of curtains and a strangled yell of her own, Keiko followed my lead, and we battled a path through the zombies, out the door, to freedom.

* * *

Something was happening.

My head was buzzing, alive. I was hyperaware of my surroundings—a song was made of the yells following us, of our feet hitting the floor as we ran for our lives.

Almost... celestial. A singing, a humming, a crescendo. Growing and rising and falling and strengthening, matching the racing of my heart, in tune with the tempo of my breath. My surroundings fell away, and though I knew precisely where they were, it didn't matter. The song filled my head...

"_BOTAN...!"_

I snapped back to reality and watched, horrified, as Botan fell. She fell... slowly. The adrenaline that I now tasted on my tongue gave my mind the ability to see these things in detail, though I wanted to block them forever from my mind.

I fell to my knees, helping Keiko hold Botan up with shaking arms, baited breath. She didn't seem to be breathing...

_No..._

"Run..." Botan whispered, voice cracking.

"No! I won't leave you!" Keiko vowed fervently, head whipping back and forth in denial.

Everything became hazy.

The celestial song rose to a roar like the ocean, and I was swept up on the surface of it, borne along the racing, electric sea.

The air sparked with electricity.

I fought it down, teeth bared in a feral snarl, and hissed up at the mob surrounding us:

"Back. _Off."_

The roar grew in my ears. I clenched my teeth and tried to fight it down, tears stinging my eyes from the intensity of it. The air was electric, every breath a shock.

One of them laughed at my warning, taking no heed, and stepped forward.

A flash of light, spasmodic, flaring out, flickering, crackling...

And something exploded from me.

A tiny spark flared into a raging wildfire, blossoming into a bright blue dome, rushing away from me. I felt a fierce sort of satisfaction as it left me.

The innocent stepped forward again and brought his fist down with crushing force, over our heads. Keiko screamed, cringing, holding the now unconscious Botan tightly in her arms.

The possessed human's fist didn't go any further than that.

The innocent's glazed eyes widened, and he gave me a look of complete and utter confusion. I grinned fiercely—the electricity searing through my veins making my heart race, my head spin. I laughed once, a sharp, unforgiving sound.

"I warned you."

Without a sound, all of the innocents dropped to the ground at once.

In my darkening vision, I saw the insects crawl out of their mouths...

And explode into clouds of ash.

Instantly.

The song faded into the depths of my mind, and I grappled weakly with it. My head was spinning. I was dimly aware of Keiko saying my name, but my mind barely noted it. So tired...

And I fell forward into the darkness.

* * *

"It was completely instinctive," I said slowly, shaking my head. "But... that's good. I can project now." I grinned, proud of my recently developed power.

Kurama frowned, shifting uncomfortably on the foot of the bed. "Still... I would've much rather had you learn something like _projecting_," his tone became grudgingly awed at the word, "with me—where I know you're not in danger."

He lifted an eyebrow at my satisfied expression. "Anything but having your defense evolve because you would die if it didn't..."

I leaned back against the wall, sitting on a pillow, lacing my fingers behind my head. "If that's what it takes..." I hinted, shooting him a smile. Kurama's frown deepened.

We were at Kuwabara's sister's apartment. It was three days after the Makai insect fiasco... right after Yusuke had woken up—he had been exhausted after battling the last Saint Beast. He and Keiko had taken off about an hour ago.

Much to my enjoyment, school had been canceled for a week. The aftermath from the infected humans was close to devastating, but it had it's perks...

"You know... Botan was so proud of me," I said in an innocently hurt voice, pouting. "In fact, she said something about helping me cultivate it further... something from Reikai. You know anything about it...?"

And at that moment, the not-so-Grim Reaper herself danced into the room, and launched herself on the bed between Kurama and I.

"I just got back," she sang, eyes dancing. She reached into her pocket and brandished something small—that dangled from a chain—in my face. I drew back from it, glanced up at Botan's excited expression, then looked closely at the object she was quite literally shoving in my face.

It was a tiny, sealed vial. Inside it, a red-haired something that I supposed could only be...

"...An imp?" I guessed, taking the vial between my thumb and forefinger, peering closely at it. I shot Botan a bemused look. "It's so small..."

The thing glared up at me, tattoos on its face stretching as he growled in a tiny, guttural voice:

"It's _Rando,_ human. Not imp."

* * *

**Oh yes. Rando. ;3**


	13. First Mission

"_No one can possible know what is about to happen: it is happening, each time, for the first time, for the only time."_

_-James Arthur Baldwin_

First Mission

* * *

"That hurt, you know." Kurama said, frowning down at me.

"You deserved it!" I shot back, glowering up at him as I locked up the house. "I get out of the _shower_, wearing nothing but jeans and a _bra_, and you decide to come frolicking in through my window?" I finished locking the front door to my parent's house, and gestured furiously at it. "Ever heard of a _door..._?"

"You didn't need to throw a hairdryer at me—I closed my eyes." He reasoned, easily falling into step beside me, rubbing at his forehead, where an imprint of the said hairdryer could be seen.

"Yeah, I did." I growled, crossing my arms angrily. "My _privacy_ was being violated. Next time you get an inkling to play Peeping Demon...don't."

"Wha—?" He protested, eyes widening in horror. "I—"

"—_You_ are going to Reikai," I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, holding out a hand to block him from walking past me, and looked up at him sternly.

"And you're going to ask Koenma about this videotape you so _discreetly_ told me about," I ordered. 'Yusuke always complains about not being well-informed... so you're going to get all the information you can."

"And after that, m'am?" Kurama asked, amused (and probably relieved that we were moving away from the topic of his Peeping Tom escapades), shoving his hands into his pockets with a smirk.

"After that, _sir_, you're going to head off Hiei—he must know _something_, or he wouldn't have been playing delivery boy." I gave him a bemused look. "Why, again, is it so important to keep Hiei in the dark...?"

"And again, it's not my place to say," Kurama replied mildly, eyes wandering away from my irritated look. "If he wants you to know, he'll tell you himself."

"Right. I'll never know," I said resignedly, then remembered. "Oh, and babysit Imp for me, will you?" I asked, pulling the vial out of my pocket and shoving it into Kurama's hands.

Imp glowered at me. "Rando, you foolish human. _Rando_."

"Imp," I corrected, and rolled my eyes at Kurama's disapproving look. "Hey, you have no right to complain about babysitting the gnome... I'm going to Kuwabara's sister's house, remember...?"

Blank Look.

"Shizuru's an _innocent_," I reminded Kurama exasperatedly, turning on my heel. "So... see you in a few, P.D."

"I am not... a Peeping Demon."

* * *

"—For _juvenile delinquents!_" Yusuke yelled, hands clenched into fists.

I hesitated in the doorway, watching the scene with amused confusion.

Botan turned on Yusuke, yelling right back in his face, "Well I had to make up _something_ believable to explain your absence! _Preferably_ without mentioning the supernatural!"

I leaned against the doorframe to wait it out.

"The Spirit World can't run properly when normal humans have proof of it!" Botan said in a no-nonsense, not to mention aggravated voice, eyes sparking furiously. "Surely you know _that_ much, at least...!"

Yusuke frowned sullenly. "Well you made me sound lame," He protested, pouting.

"Enough already!" I glanced up to see Kuwabara sitting on the floor, in front of a T.V. stand. He glared at Yusuke and Botan. "Can we _please _just watch the video instead of arguing? You're gonna annoy my sister! Oh, hey, Sparky," he added, spotting me.

"As I've told you a million times," I retorted, glowering halfheartedly at him—the nickname had grown on me—and stepping into the room, "it's Reina."

"Whatever, Sparky," Kuwabara said, turning his attention back to the T.V. "Besides," he continued, glancing back at Yusuke, "Botan's right. Keiko's not supposed to know, so the truth would only get her in trouble. Maybe you should care more about her _safety_," Yusuke shot Kuwabara a venomous look, "then worry about some stupid cover story."

"So... you didn't tell Keiko after all, Botan?" I guessed, flopping down on the floor next to her. "That makes sense."

Yusuke gave me a glare, then glowered resentfully at the blank T.V. screen. "I just _love_ being tag-teamed," he grumbled sarcastically.

"Thank you, Kuwabara, Reina—you're both _very_ wise!" Botan said loudly, shooting Yusuke a pointed look.

Kuwabara grinned. "What can I say, Botan...? You and I seem to be a perfect match in every way."

Botan's expression became sick. I snorted.

"Now! One more thing before I press play, Urameshi!" Kuwabara announced, giving Yusuke a steely look. "Whatever kinda mission it is, there's _no way_ I'm getting involved!"

"Okay, _okay_! Just start the tape!" Yusuke retorted.

Kuwabara lifted the remote, and pressed play.

Static.

I heard cheesy music playing somewhere, and peered at the screen. Botan, Yusuke, and Kuwabara were watching it closely, rapt attention on their faces—so it must've started.

"_Snarrrl! Snaaarrrllll!"_

"The tape's bad," I observed decidedly, tilting my head to get a better view. I couldn't see anything—the audio was fine, though. Just zilch picture.

Yusuke shot me an incredulous look, then shrugged and looked back at the static-filled screen. "Either he's full of himself or he's _really_ bored..."

"Welcome," A high-pitched, childish voice greeted us. "How do you like my video...?"

I could see it now, through the static. Just barely, though. I could make out childish features... a pacifier...? What the...

"The great Lord Koenma, ruler of the Spirit World, has another important mission for you," The juvenile voice announced smugly, the pacifier moving up and down as he—the child—spoke. I eyed the screen incredulously—was this a joke?

Kuwabara was thinking the same thing. "This is _seriously_ the guy you get your jobs from, Urameshi...?" He asked, pointing at the screen and giving Yusuke a look of disbelief. "This little bitty toddler...?"

"_That's_ Lord Koenma?" I laughed, surprised, lifting an eyebrow at Botan. "You must be joking..."

"I said the same thing when I met him, and Botan hit _me_ in the head," Yusuke answered with a grimace.

Botan covered her mouth, fighting a smile. "Perhaps that's why Lord Koenma's doing a video this time—he can't _bear_ these first reactions..."

With a laugh, I turned back to decipher the faint images on the screen. "But still... the video's all washed out... I can barely see a thing."

"Oh, and by the way..." The childlike voice continued, "don't worry about innocents entering the room and seeing this video. This video is specially encrypted to appear as annoying fuzz to anyone without a decent sixth sense."

I flushed; Yusuke shot me a superior look, smirking.

"I can see a faint outline..." I retorted self-consciously, focusing on the screen, face burning.

"This is a search-and-rescue mission," Koenma informed us. "Except... without the searching. Watch my magic snap." With that, I discerned the toddler lifting a hand, and snapping his fingers. The scene abruptly changed. I worked a little to focus on it—and recognized the scenery as a forest.

"_C'mon_, that's just a cheap camera trick!" Yusuke exclaimed, indignant. Botan waved at him for silence.

"Spirit World intelligence reports that the captive is being held in a mountain stronghold, around two hundred miles from your town," Koenma continued, as the scene shifted to take in the vast, green expanse. "You will have to take a bus."

"The mountain is a base of criminal activity. I usually don't care about that—but these humans have made ties with some _very_ nasty demons." The scene changed, to a page from a book. I couldn't make out the writing, only a picture of a woman standing in a snowy landscape.

"The captive's name is Yukina," Koenma said. "She's an ice apparition. Very rare. _Equally_ rare are the beautiful gems she can create." The scene changed back to Koenma's baby-like face, and he held up something perfectly round in his fingertips. It glinted. "—Which is why these humans have captured her. They hope to profit from greatly from Yukina... by forcing her to create these jewels at an unnatural pace..."

I didn't like where this was going; my eyes narrowed on the screen as the scene changed yet again to reveal a grouping of buildings, a cluster of suited figures, and a helicopter.

"...by means of torture."

"That's _horrible_..." Botan murmured. I nodded in agreement, stomach churning.

"Because there's only one way to make the jewels... from her tears."

Botan started. "Yes... the Hiruseki Stone..." She said, understanding. "At the Black Market, those jewels sell easily for _thousands_..."

"Here is the human behind the operation," Koenma said, and we were instantly greeted with the (nauseating) sight of a lumpy, deformed face.

"Gonzu Tarukane. He's made a fortune off of Yukina," Koenma continued.

"Eagh... he's too _ugly _to be human..." Kuwabara said, leaning away from the screen with a disgusted look, as Tarukane leered at us.

"He's too ugly to be _anything_," Yusuke corrected, glaring at the screen.

The screen changed to reveal a barred window—one with paper wards adhered to it.

"Here are the most recent pictures we have of Yukina," Koenma said simply, and the scene changed again.

Through the fuzz created by my lack of spiritual sight, I could discern the saddest face I had ever seen—also one of the most indifferent. Her small, expressionless face revealed nothing, but her ruby eyes were ancient in their grief.

"Memorize her face. It's _imperative_ that you rescue her."

The screen froze on Yukina's face. I looked over at Kuwabara, who had just punched the pause button on the remote.

Botan, Yusuke, and I exchanged glances as Kuwabara stood slowly to his feet—face blank, mouth open—and... was that _drool...?_

"Hey, Kuwabara... you okay?" Yusuke asked hesitantly. "You look like you're tryin' to pass something..."

Botan shot Yusuke a disgusted look—one that I mirrored.

Kuwabara shook his head, eyes unfocused (yes, he was definitely drooling), and said in a low voice,

"I-I think I'm in love..."

The rest of us exchanged another look. Then, in unison, we peered up at Kuwabara.

"Eh...?" we chorused.

Kuwabara snapped.

"_C'mon,_ Urameshi!" He cried, grabbing the detective's collar and glaring at him, the strangest expression on his face, "Let's send those bad guys to the _moon...!"_

"I thought you weren't coming..." Yusuke said, lifting an eyebrow.

Kuwabara released Yusuke's collar, yelling in his face, "SHUT UP! Don't try dressin' up the facts again!" with a strangled yell, he stood to his full height, towering over us. I flinched, wide-eyed.

"_SHE'S SUFFERING...!"_ Kuwabara bellowed, panting. Then his eyes focused on something behind us, and his pained expression cleared.

"Uh... Shizuru...?" He asked blankly, mouth popping open in an "o" of surprise.

We twisted around. Botan gaped. "Ah... how long have you been standing there...?" she asked weakly, blood draining from her face.

Shizuru was an innocent. Crap.

"Calm down, Princess," Shizuru said, unruffled as always, a tray of food balanced on her hand, her always-present cigarette dangling from her mouth. "I just heard you watching that weirdo movie, so I thought you'd like some kiddie snacks or something."

We exchanged glances again.

"W-we're just watching fuzz..." Yusuke said nervously.

"-That's right, fuzz!" Kuwabara added intelligently, smiling edgily, a panicked expression on his face.

"It's _relaxing_," Botan chimed in, forcing a small, anxious smile.

"The shrink said it would help Yusuke's condition!" I offered, ducking as he swiped angrily at my head.

"Right," Shizuru replied, unfazed. "So I must've imagined the little boy with the pacifier giving you orders." She put a hand on her hip and gave us each a look of obvious disbelief.

"Oh... spirit awareness must run in the Kuwabara family..." Botan said, giving up with a weak smile.

Kuwabara shook his head to clear his thoughts, then said loudly, "Okay, Sis, you win! Can we have some money for the bus...? Like a million—that would be enough, right...?"

"Kiddo, for a million bucks you could ride a bus to Hawaii," Shizuru said unconcernedly, digging in her pocket with a free hand. She pulled out a billfold, and tossed it to Kuwabara. "Fifty should do it. Go get 'em, tiger."

Kuwabara caught it, then lunged for the door. "Thanks, sis! See you in a couple days!" He disappeared around the corner, bellowing, "_I'm coming_, my love...!"

There was a long silence.

"...Think he knows where to go?" Yusuke wondered.

"Doubt it," I said, shaking my head. "Well... he'll figure it out, I suppose..."

"In a couple hours, maybe," Shizuru amended, bending and placing the snacks on the floor in the middle of us, straightening to her feet and nudging it with her toe. "Eat up, kids. Let's finish this movie."

And she sat down between Botan and I, and grabbed a saucer off the tray.

"Um... right..." I said awkwardly, and reached around Botan for the remote. I clicked play, and the screen moved again.

"Oh, and before I go... I must add that this case is quite delicate," Koenma continued. "You see... Yukina is Hiei's twin sister."

* * *

"...I still can't believe it," I said quietly, to Botan.

After creating an alibi, telling my parents that I was spending the next few nights at Botan's house (she came along to verify my story,) and raiding Shizuru's pantry for food and other supplies, we had gone out looking for Kuwabara. After finding him, we climbed on a bus and headed out into the mountains.

It worked out pretty well, what with school being cancelled all week because of the aftermath from the Makai insect infestation.

Botan thought that going on this mission would help me develop my defense better. I was just going to watch the video, and help them plan out the mission, but I ended up tagging along. Which was kind of flattering... but I was still nervous.

I had left before Kurama got back… which was a good thing. He wouldn't have let me go.

After a six-hour bus ride (one that Yusuke and Kuwabara had made hell with their incessant bickering), we had arrived at our drop-off point and started hiking. We were currently deep into the forest, and Botan and I were still talking about Yukina's sibling.

"I know," Botan said. "But... they _do_ look alike. They're both short, and have the same eyes..."

"But Yukina looked like a nice sort of demon—you know, like Kurama," I protested. "And… well, Hiei is anything _but_, from what I've seen of him..." I glanced back at the boys, who were lagging behind us.

The rest of us had made a pact not to tell Kuwabara about Yukina and Hiei... we didn't want to ruin his enthusiasm about the mission. Like me, he wasn't all that fond of Hiei. Not without good reason, mind you.

"This place smells like ass..." I heard Yusuke observe disgustedly. "There's _no way_ we're gonna find this house by nightfall."

Botan paused in the middle of the trail, and turned towards them. "Guys, there's a trail that goes all the way up the mountain!" She said, pointing at the thin track behind us. "I think it's our best bet!"

"Let's _go,_ Urameshi!" Kuwabara exclaimed eagerly, tripping over his feet in his haste to reach Botan and I. "Wait for me, Yukina...! Your true love is almost there...!"

"...Definitely not telling him about Hiei," I muttered to no one in particular. "The poor kid's heart would implode..."

Kuwabara barreled past us, and pelted down the trail. "C'mon, what're you waiting for? We've got a _girl_ to rescue...!"

Yusuke came level with us, staring up at the excited Kuwabara. "Guess he's through being in love with you, Botan..."

"Darn," Botan replied cheerfully, and we followed Yusuke as he walked up the incline, and deeper into the forest.

* * *

"Botan, next time Kuwabara and I get a bad feeling... don't go skipping off into a demonic spider web, alright...?" I asked, giving her an exasperated look. "Gut feelings mean a lot when you hang out with us, remember...?"

"Sorry!" She said again, waving her hands to ward off the lecture. "I was just following the compass..."

We had fought and beaten two demons hired by the crime lord Tarukane—but hadn't found the stronghold before nightfall. So we started a campfire with some matches that Botan had brought, and were sprawled around it.

"We're gonna get Yukina tomorrow," Kuwabara muttered to himself, dropping his flaming s'more into the fire. "Gonna find my love..."

"That's the spirit," I answered, and leaned my head back against the tree I was sitting against. "But there's probably going to be even more security when we get there... so let's rest up."

* * *

_It was a fiery hell._

_My surroundings were ashes and embers; everything had a red hue. Flaming, burning—searing me. And I couldn't move._

_Then, under my feet, a single, red eye opened, slitted pupil fixing me in a malevolent, unblinking stare._

_I couldn't look away..._

_It **burned**...!_

I woke up with a strangled yelp, bolting upright, eyes darting about me, wildly, frantically. It was so dark—where was I...?

Oh...

Right. Forest.

With a low groan, I rubbed at my temples, trying to banish the (understandably) uncomfortable feeling of being burned alive. I could hear Yusuke and Kuwabara snoring, and, in the dim light thrown by the dying campfire, I could see Botan roll over in her sleeping bag. I leaned my head back against the tree and closed my eyes.

Then, I jumped to my feet, whirling and glowering up into the canopy as my head throbbed painfully, on fire.

"Hiei?" I called softly, to not wake up the others. "That you...?"

"Hn."

I blew a relieved sigh. I hadn't been around Hiei enough to be familiar with his aura—but the Jagan Eye was difficult to forget. Though glad it wasn't another hired demon, sent to assassinate us while we were asleep, I was still annoyed.

"Scared the hell out of me," I grumbled, flopping back down on the ground. It would be impossible to spot him anyway. "You and your Eye... what are you doing here, anyway?"

"My business is my own, human," Hiei's voice retorted from the dark abyss of the canopy.

"Hm... oh," I said, understanding. "Your sister, right?"

A flash of movement, and he was standing over me, glowering down at me.

"_What_ did you say?"

I blinked several times. Holy... he was fast. I kept my awe out of my voice, though, and replied casually, "You're a demon, right? You heard me. Yukina, your sister." I frowned up at him. "Go find another tree to hide in, Hiei. And point your Eye somewhere else." I added irritably, as heat seared through my veins.

His eyes glinted. A flicker of flame, emanating from the wad of bandages wrapped around his forehead, coving his third eye shocked my thoughts, scrambling them. My eyes narrowed. "In more... monosyllabic terms, fool... _who_ told you about Yukina?"

"My business is my own," I quoted. "But... so you'll go off somewhere else... _that_ information came with the tape you gave to Yusuke."

Hiei's glare increased in intensity. More fire.

_He's crossed the line_, I realized as the air became tangibly electric- and as I lifted a hand to point at the sky, my fingers sparked with it. Hiei glowered at them.

"That's all I'm saying. Get out of here," I warned as the air sparked. Hiei's eyes flicked over to glance, unperturbed, at the flash of electricity.

"Hn."

And he was gone.

* * *

**Yay Hiei! I love writing Hiei!**

**Third chapter today… XD**


	14. Incarcerated

**Umm... you need to know something.**

_Italics is Reina's thoughts._

_Italics and underlined is Hiei's thoughts._

* * *

"_I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat."_

_-Sir Winston Churchill_

Incarcerated

* * *

"Why're they bothering with all these wimps?" Yusuke asked, disgruntled. He rubbed his knuckles. "They're not even worth it..."

We had reached the mountain complex. And we had promptly been ambushed by Tarukane's security. They were pitiful, too—I had actually fried one, as Yusuke had so tactfully observed. Which was insulting for them. I wasn't even lightheaded.

"They're desperate," Botan said, running up behind Yusuke, consulting the compass on her wrist. "We're very close to Yukina..."

I stepped closer to Botan and peered at the compass. Then, in my peripheral, I saw Botan and Yusuke glance up, exchange bemused looks, then stare at something behind me.

"Uh... Kuwabara...?" Yusuke's voice sounded flat, but amused. "What the _hell_'re you tying around your head...?"

I turned, then burst out into laughter when I saw the gaudy, girly headband bound tightly around Kuwabara's forehead.

"It's the great fighting headband of _love!"_ He proclaimed passionately, a wild, rapturous grin on his face.

"Right..." Yusuke said. I was still laughing.

"_Anyway_..." I stifled my giggles with a sigh, and turned back to look at the compass again.

That's when I saw them.

"Whoa! Heads up, here they come...!" I exclaimed, backing off a few steps, pointing. A mob of demons were galloping, crawling, and slithering their way towards us—the malicious gleam I knew well in their many eyes. Behind me, Botan slunk away and Yusuke fell into his trademark fighting stance.

"—And those guys _hate _love!" Kuwabara bellowed. His hand clenched into a fist, and the Spirit Sword (something that I had recently become acquainted with) erupted from his fingers. "They want to try to _keep me from my YUKINA...!"_

Then, with a strangled battle cry, he ran towards the demons.

There was a long silence.

"By all means, kill yourself. Do us all a favor," Yusuke grumbled under his breath. I backhanded the side of his head ("Hey...!"), then bolted after Kuwabara.

* * *

"Hey, Kuwabara! Hold it...!" Yusuke started to follow him, but Botan reached out and took his arm.

Kuwabara continued to run towards the complex with a faint cry of "I'm _coming_, my darling...!" echoing back to us.

"Yusuke, the compass is getting interference from three very powerful demons," Botan warned, holding his gaze. "Don't let Kuwabara run in there blindly..."

"Got it," Yusuke said, then took off.

"Reina, you and I will go airborne—to see if we can see Yukina," Botan said, lifting a hand. A long, wooden paddle materialized out of thin air. I didn't really mind that—I had seen a lot of weird things since I had met Kurama, and this was certainly not one of the most surprising—but I balked when Botan leaped onto it, then patted a thin stretch of wood behind her.

"Airborne...?" I asked incredulously, gaping up at her. She hovered, on the paddle, about five feet off the ground. "On that...? And 'you and I'...?"

"Reina, come on—we don't have time for cold feet," she chided, looking very much like a chipper, blue-haired witch—on a paddle instead of a broom. It was a daunting sight. I looked up at the tower where Yukina was allegedly being held, noting how far it was from the ground, and gulped.

"I know I'm going to regret this, I _know_ I'm going to regret this..." I muttered weakly, clambering up behind Botan and latching my arms around her waist. "If you kill me, I'll come back to haunt you..."

Then, with a stomach-lurching jolt, we sped off towards the tower.

"—Because, with those other demons, the compass can't get a good read on her!" Botan called back to me, over the wind. "Try to sense her, Reina...!"

I nodded, eyes clenched shut, and focused on my pitiful aura, trying to make it branch out.

_BOOM._

Botan screamed, the paddle twisting spastically through the air—to avoid the pillar of flame and ash rushing up at us.

"Holy...! I didn't do that!" I yelled, eyes wide on the horrifying sight of fire, dirt, and smoke. "Not me! I swear!"

"The boys...!" Botan coughed, holding a hand over her mouth, to filter out some of the smoke. "They must've... land mines...!"

These words fell into place, each of them a sharp-edged stone, cutting through my nerves until they broke.

_NO! _My mind screamed. I was wholly incapable of speech. _Not Yusuke and Kuwabara...!_

_Human, it is very difficult to concentrate when a wailing brat is screaming at the top of her lungs in my head. For your sake, I suggest you _shut the hell up_**.**_

"The hell...?" I yelped, twisting in my seat, squinting through the hazy, ash-filled air to identify the source of the malediction. "Hiei...!"

_In your head, fool._ His voice said irritably. His words cut through my mind like a deliberate, searing, annoyed flame. It was different from the fire that licked at my feet; Hiei's flame was tempered with his charming personality. And it was wholly mental.

Great, so now I was burning from the _inside_, too?

_Cease the use of your pathetic power—it's interrupting my search and I find that _very_ annoying._

_YOU'RE A FREAKING TELEPATH NOW...! WHAT THE _HELL_...?_ I thought back shrilly, as Botan and I twisted into a spiraling dive to avoid a lick of flame.

_Control yourself. Or suffer greatly for it._

I took a calming breath, and promptly choked on ash. Botan was circling the fire frantically, searching for the boys. I peered over her shoulder, eyes stinging from the smoke and the searing heat.

_Tell me—can you sense Yusuke and Kuwabara? Tell me,_ I begged.

There was a pause.

_The oaf and the spirit detective are alive. Go to them, and I advise you not to interrupt me again._

_Hiei...?_

Silence. I guessed he was waiting.

_Can you sense her? Yukina...?_

More silence.

_Hn._

And the annoyed flame left, speeding away like a drifting ember.

* * *

The boys were very much alive, standing in the center of the inferno, in fact—with wisps of spiritual energy holding it at bay. Botan touched down, and, wordlessly, grimly, we acknowledged one another and continued forward.

With a resounding creak, Yusuke and Kuwabara dramatically pushed open the front door of the complex.

We were in.

But we weren't alone.

I felt her before I saw her—a demon, immensely powerful. The richly decorated hallway was on fire, burning with invisible flames. I flexed my fingers, eyes narrowing as she came into view. She took a precise step into the center of the hallway, then stopped, hand on bare hip, and smiled disconcertingly at us.

"Hello, there... intruders." The demon said, eyeing us menacingly. "My name is Miyuki." She grinned, revealing pointed teeth. She glided forward, the edges of the high slit in her dress flapping in the faint breeze of her movement. "How would you like to fight...?"

* * *

Apparently, despite his blind love for Yukina, Kuwabara still retained a legalistic code of honor.

He flatly refused to fight the demon woman, saying that it wasn't right to 'fight girls!' and instead resorted to fidgeting on the spot, at a loss for what to do.

...But of course, Yusuke had no problem fighting the demon, being... well, himself... and also had no problem in proving that this "demon lady" was, in fact...

...A transvestite.

"Okay, I admit it..." Yusuke said, rubbing the back of his neck—at least he had the decency to act embarrassed—and glancing down at the unconscious cross-dresser, "I was curious. Things didn't seem... right... up top, so I... uh, you know..." he stuttered as Botan gave him an appalled look, one that I mirrored perfectly, "Well..."

He made a circle with his fingers, pulling a disgusted face. "The family jewels have not been stolen."

Botan and I grimaced in unison.

Kuwabara gaped at him, shot the demon a look, then said stupidly, "So... fighting girls _does_ bother you—so you gave her a checkup instead of attacking her at first." Kuwabara frowned. "You're kind of a weird guy..."

"Actually, he's just like any other prepubescent boy... a pervert." I corrected disgustedly, crossing my arms.

Yusuke glared at me. "I don't know what a prepu-prebu—whatever—is, but it _sounded_ like an insult!"

"Good boy," I replied sarcastically. "It was."

"Uh... Urameshi," Kuwabara asked, "you're sure that she's uh... because... uh... she's so..." Kuwabara stammered, bending closer to get a better look at the demon, eyes glazing over, smiling stupidly, "uh..." He reached for the hem of her dress.

At the same time, Botan popped him one with her paddle, and I slapped him over the head.

"Pervert!" Botan cried.

"You're being _unfaithful_ to your _dear_ Yukina...!" I reminded him severely, drawing back my hand menacingly. "With a transvestite!"

Still cringing from the barrage of womanly fury, Kuwabara rose to his full height and turned.

"Hey, look—a camera!" he said, grinning.

Yusuke followed his gaze.

"Two more and we're coming after you!" He promised, smirking and flipping the bird at the camera. I grinned at it, and made a face. Botan and Kuwabara copied me.

* * *

_Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep...!_

"Hold it—the compass is going crazy!" Botan exclaimed, waving at the boys.

"But not without good reason," I growled, peering about me. "There's a demon here—he's close...!"

"MOVE!" Kuwabara bellowed, shoving Botan and I apart. With a cry, I smacked into the wall and slid to the floor, dazed.

The air sparked with electricity.

Then, with a tiny ripping noise, Kuwabara's Fighting Headband of Love ripped into seamless halves. And drifted to the floor.

Kuwabara stared down at it, expression stunned. He probably couldn't believe that an invisible demon had brought about the demise of his headband.

What I couldn't believe was that it left his forehead unscathed.

The hazy aura shifted, then solidified.

"He's there!" I cried, stumbling to my feet and pointing.

The second member of the Deadly Triad stared us down through a gap in the turban wrapped around his head.

"Time to meet your maker, intruders..."

* * *

He ate his words— because of a plan _Kuwabara_, of all people, had instigated.

The demon had pulled a few million disappearing acts.

But, other than that, he wasn't really all that deadly.

We had turned, and ran back down the way we came, following Kuwabara as he plunged ahead of us. We had turned into a narrow alcove, putting the demon exactly where we wanted him.

In short, Yusuke fired a shot of spirit energy at the only opening there was, and blasted the demon to kingdom come.

As Botan and I examined the demon, Yusuke and Kuwabara were busy taunting the second video camera they had just found.

"It's kind of funny... this security is crap. Isn't Tarukane a crime lord...? He should have better guards." I said critically, glaring up at the camera, which swiveled angrily to stare at me. I stuck out my tongue at it.

"You're complaining?" Botan asked, smiling a little.

"Of course not," I said, disgruntled. "I'm just surprised..."

Then I froze.

_Fire..._

"Yusuke, Kuwabara...!" I yelled, lunging at them. "Get down...!"

The wall exploded in a shower of dust, debris, and mental flame.

And a very large, very painful _something_ grabbed the back of my jacket from behind, and lifted me up into the air. Judging by the high-pitched screams coming from somewhere on my left, the last demon of the Triad had snatched Botan, too.

I yanked my sleeves up, twisted blindly, and hugged the demon's massive arm desperately.

The demon roared in surprise and released me.

Good news, I was free.

Bad news...

That demon must've been almost as powerful as Kurama. Though I had only touched it for about three seconds, my energy was completely gone.

Through the grime disturbed by the demon's explosive entrance, I could see nothing. I could hear the others yelling something.

Arms grabbed me, lifted me up. I struggled weakly, blinded, unable to see...

And everything became very dark.

* * *

"Miss...?"

I groaned. My head throbbed.

"Miss... are you alright...?"

I forced my eyes to open. A single, large, red eye stared worriedly down at me.

_Zap._

"Oh!" Yukina gasped, jerking her hand away from my forehead. She eyed me fearfully, wide-eyed and hurt.

"Sorry..." I managed, struggling into a sitting position. "I didn't mean to—when apparitions touch me, I zap them reflexively. I'm sorry..."

"Oh... it's alright," she said kindly, cradling her hand, forcing a small smile. "I was trying to help you—when they brought you in; you were out cold..."

My head whirled. I rubbed my forehead. "In... where, Yukina?" I asked, looking about me in confusion.

Yukina eyed me carefully. "How do you know my name...?" She asked, blinking up at me demurely, a question in her eyes.

I smiled disarmingly. "My friends and I... we're here to... ah..." My head throbbed, and I winced. Yukina's hands fluttered helplessly around my face, wanting to help but too cautious to try.

That demon... what _possessed_ me to touch it...?

"No, don't worry," I assured her, grimacing. "I'm just tired... but my friends and I are here to help you... to help you escape."

Her mouth popped open in horror. "No!" She said, standing, wringing her hands. I stared up at her, brow furrowed at her reaction.

"What's wrong...?" I asked, confused.

Yukina shook her head wildly. "No... if anyone comes near me... they'll kill you!"

Then...

Her head whipped up, horror becoming flat dread, hands coming up to cover her mouth. Her eyes were terrified, wary, and sad all at once. "Oh no..."

The flames were... bewildering. Just that... I couldn't make sense of them. I struggled to turn, not risking standing on my feet, as a group of people walked into the room.

Two of them were demons. One had a definite aura—strong, but not very—but the other was...

Bewildering.

Hazy, like my mind was working through a deep quagmire, sluggish, languid. I couldn't focus on it...

It was being... suppressed, somehow...

The demon with the definite aura was thin, gaunt, and riding on the other demon's shoulder. It grinned down at me, teeth yellow in its pasty face, wild grey hair tumbling in snarls to frame his menacing expression.

The other demon was enormous. If I was standing, I sincerely doubted that my head would reach his waist. I cringed into the floor, eyes wide, teeth clenched—I was in no position to fight, but all my senses were tingling... readying me for it.

"Let's get these two outta here, Toguros!" A short, obese man growled, eyeing Yukina and I appraisingly.

"Tarukane..." I muttered, recognizing him.

"Huh..." Tarukane said, staring down at me from over the cigar hanging out of his mouth. He knocked the cigar lazily against his cuffs, and the ashes fell on my lap. "You're informed, kid. What made you drop like that back there, huh...? Who sent you?"

"Her spiritual power," The hazy one, one of these Toguros, interrupted in a gravelly voice. "It emits a force against any demon that she touches, expelling energy until that demon is dead. Unless, of course..." The demon's sunglasses glinted in the fluorescent light as he stared me down, "the demon is stronger than she is."

_What the hell...?_

"How do you know that, demon?" I shot back, voice quavering slightly. I rose to my feet and backed up a little, staring up at him.

The demon stared down at me, face expressionless.

"Call me Toguro," he said, and a small smile slipped onto his features.

"And I know this, because you have a traitor in your midst..." Toguro said, smile mildly teasing now—in a way that made chills race down my spine, and made me hold my breath in wary anticipation.

"...by the name of Ryo Takeo."

* * *

_Ryo? Not Ryo...!_

I was weak, too weak to do anything but sit here, propped up against the wall, and think. When I _should_ be out hunting down, and _murdering,_ that boy...!

Yukina's eyes sought mine worriedly over the shoulders of the two human guards holding her behind Tarukane, forcing her to watch...

...To watch...

Yet _another_ thing I should be doing. Down there and fighting, helping... instead of _watching._ Though, granted, I couldn't even do that much...

Though this room was soundproofed, I could still hear sounds of huge battle down there. Though I couldn't see it, I could _feel_ it as Toguro's aura became larger... and larger... and even more menacing than before. But still hazy—so I knew that he wasn't even _fighting_ the boys...

He was _playing._

Probably making the boys think that they had a chance in hell when they didn't. It was cruel.

"Hey," Tarukane snapped his fingers, and the guards standing beside me, against the wall, jerked to attention.

"Stand her up. Make her look at me."

Arms grabbed my elbow, and lifted me unceremoniously to my feet. I struggled to keep my footing, lifted my gaze, and fixed Tarukane with a Death Glare that would've made Hiei proud.

"I don't like that look, broad. Wipe it off your face," Tarukane ordered, jowls quivering long after he finished speaking.

I simply glared, and didn't say anything.

Tarukane lifted himself (with much difficulty) out of his chair, and glared down at me as I hung languidly against the restraints of the guard's arms, unable to stand on my own.

He drew his hand back, and slapped me across the face.

I saw Yukina flinch.

Something warm and wet trickled out of my mouth. I must've ground down on my tongue. I couldn't feel it.

I turned my head back to look at him again, not allowing my features to swerve an inch from its livid expression.

"You're just like Yukina," Tarukane observed, piggy eyes malevolent. He reached into his coat pocket, and pulled out something that hung on a chain, glinting in the light. "Toguro said that you zapped demons. I wonder what'll happen if you try to zap this...?"

_The Hiruseki Stone._ I thought. It was encased in a metal cover. Only a thin sliver of the stone itself could be seen—wrapped the way it was so it could be strung on a chain, without having to drill into it.

Tarukane had posed an interesting question, though. Also a daunting one. What _would_ happen if I touched one of those things...? It was demonic, but not alive. Would it be reduced to ashes... or...

"Hold her head," Tarukane growled. One of the henchmen grabbed the hair at the nape of my neck, holding it immobile.

Tarukane brought the stone close to my face... closer... inches... centimeters...

Then pressed it against my cheek, cold and quiet.

But then, broiling flames.

With a hiss, the stone burned right through my skin.

"Aughhhhh...!" I yelled, trying to jerk back, tears of pain stinging my eyes. Tarukane held my kryptonite to my face for a few more seconds, but suddenly, the painful flames vanished.

"Hell! She _melted_ it!" Tarukane said, shocked.

Then he started laughing.

"I can see a business in the making, boys!" He said, tossing the empty chain into a corner. "Get this broad to melt the stones Yukina cries, and mold 'em into things! Ha! You, kid," He took a handful of my hair, and jerked my face level with his, grinning at me, "are gonna make me rich."

The guards dropped me back against the wall after Tarukane released me, and I rubbed at my cheek, wincing as my fingers brushed against scorched skin.

Down in the arena, Yusuke and Kuwabara were fighting the Toguro brothers. I couldn't help them.

Up here, in the observatory, Yukina was still captive. She couldn't escape, because they had plastered paper wards all over the door as soon as we got in. Yukina couldn't help herself...

...I couldn't help anyone...

But...

There was always Hiei.

He was a telepath, right...? He had said something about my power interrupting him... not allowing him to concentrate.

If I thought hard enough, maybe he would hear me.

Maybe he could save Yukina.

I had nothing to give. I couldn't even move. I suppose the least I could do was call on Hiei for help...

_Hiei...!_

Nothing. I squeezed my eyes shut, blocking out everything, concentrating on my thoughts alone.

_HIEI!_

_What is possibly so important that you believe it's necessary to make my ears bleed with your _repulsive_ voice?_A stoic, irritated voice answered, accompanied by the familiar shock of flame.

I sucked in a breath, but didn't open my eyes.

_...Is that really you? _I thought, disbelieving and somewhat giddy that my plan was working so well. Finally, Hiei was useful for something...

_I heard that, human. Obviously, it is me. So speak._ His thoughts growled.

_Fine, Hiei... I hate to admit it... but I need your help._

_"Hn. As if I would help _you_,"_ Hiei said, and then his consciousness began to fade away.

_Hiei! It's about _Yukina!_ LISTEN to me, dammit...!_

His mind wavered, and remained. I took that as a positive sign.

_Speak._

_Alright... I'm next to her, right now. But you can't sense her, can you...?_

Silence. Then, grudgingly:

_No._

I felt my lips pull back into a grin. The guards would probably think I was insane... but I didn't care.

_There are paper wards all over the place... I think they're blocking your Eye. So—though, believe me, I hate the idea as much as you do—if your mind is connected with mine, you have a fairly accurate read on where she is._

_Get to the point._

_I'm the only thing connecting you to Yukina. Don't get snippety._

_...Get to the point or I will hunt you down and—_

_SO if you decide to hold the connection, you have one to Yukina, too. Follow my thoughts—and hurry. One of the Triad got to me... so I'm kind of in a… captive situation._

The flames dimmed slightly, but didn't leave. So he was listening to me.

I opened my eyes, only to meet the beady gaze of Tarukane.

"What're you lookin' at, broad?"

I chuckled once, glaring daggers, and brushed the back of my hand over my mouth. It came back red, and dripping.

"I'm pretty sure it's a fat, ugly bastard who's going to die _very_ soon," I replied sweetly. Then I spat on his clean floor, wiping my chin.

His lumpy features contorted into a frown. "Smart bitch... you just wait. As soon as I finish watching this massacre, I'll teach you a lesson." Then he turned back to watch the battle below.

There...!

The flame, the Jagan Eye, was close now...

Too close.

My eyelids drooped, a wave of nauseous lethargy crashing over me. I suddenly felt immensely tired—coupled with the energy that the Toguros were emitting down there, the Eye was too much.

_Hiei... hurry..._

And, for the second and final time that day, the darkness closed over my head.

* * *

"—When, you think...?"

"I dunno, Botan. Why should I?"

"Maybe if..."

Something jolted me to full consciousness, and I was instantly aware of two things.

Two demons were very close to me.

And sunlight was boring right into my eyes, burning them.

"Gah..." I muttered, throwing a (bizarrely) gloved arm over my face. I wondered how the gloves got there—they had been in my pocket last time I was awake.

"Reina!" A voice said, then suddenly burning arms were wrapped around me, hugging me. "You're awake...!"

My eyes popped open, and all I could see was blue hair, a red hair clip.

"Yukina...?" I guessed groggily, blinking several times. "That you...?"

She let go of me, and sat back on her ankles with a happy smile. "Yes!"

"Good morning," A voice said.

I looked up. Green eyes looked down at me, over arms crossed on what I recognized to be a tattered bus seat.

"Hey, Kurama..." I said, peering up at him blearily.

"Hello."

"We're on a bus..." I noted stupidly, looking about me.

Yukina was sitting on the seat next to me, and Kurama was looking over the back of the seat in front of us. Behind Yukina, I saw Botan and Yusuke sitting in a seat across the aisle. As I studied my surroundings with vague curiosity, Kuwabara's head popped up next to Kurama's.

"Hey, Sparky's up!" He exclaimed gleefully, punching a fist in the air, grinning down at me.

"Yeah..." I said, and held up my hands. "But... I have some questions."

"Shoot," Kurama replied, smiling.

I gestured to our surroundings. "We're on a bus...?" I repeated, tone questioning.

"Yes," Kurama said.

"Yukina," I nodded at her, "is with us..."

"Yes."

"And everyone's alive...?"

"Very much so," Kurama said, the smile evolving into an amused smirk.

"We won?" I asked incredulously, face breaking into a huge smile as it dawned on me.

Kurama nodded.

"Wait," I said, holding up my hands, lifting an eyebrow. "What're you doing here, Kurama...?"

He scratched at his temple. "Well, I _was_ coming as backup..." He admitted with a smile, "but when I got there, the battle was already won."

"So this is..."

"—The day after," Kurama finished.

I blinked at him, a wondering smile on my face. "Well… awesome!" I laughed once, giddy with relief.

* * *

**What do you think of Ryo, that little traitor...! Tell me what you think, if you're new. If you've already read this story, don't ruin it for anyone, okay? XD**

**Oh, and Imp/Rando is in the next chapter.**

**Leave a review on your way out!**


	15. Preparations

**I've lost count of all the chapters I've uploaded today… **

**XD**

* * *

"_Talent alone won't make you a success. Neither will being in the right place at the right time, unless you are ready. The most important question is: 'Are you ready'?"_

_-Johnny Carson_

Preparations

* * *

Yet again, due to my lack of precision, I send poor Imp flying (screaming) through the air, tumbling about in the vial as it twirled and soared dangerously close to the whirring ceiling fan.

Before I could even cry out in warning, Kurama's hand flicked out and caught the vial, yet again.

"Try it again," he ordered, setting the vial (which contained an extremely unhappy, dizzy Imp) upright and back in position, on the table between us. He didn't even need to look at it—correcting my mistakes was a heavily conditioned habit at this point.

I bit my lip and raised my hands. "Sorry, Imp..."

"Rando!" He immediately recovered from his dizziness to glare at me.

I wrinkled my nose at him, and he pulled a disgusted face. Oh well, it wasn't as if Rando were the only one who thought poorly of me. Reikai did as well.

Not that they hated me…they simply were uninterested (okay, _unimpressed_ is more the word) after seeing me in action during my first mission with Yukina and the others.

There was no way they were trusting Spirit World's fate in the hands of someone who keeled over in a faint every time she approached a formidable enemy- and I couldn't really blame them.

Besides, it was best to leave the fate of the worlds to juvenile delinquents like Yusuke Urameshi, I supposed.

Still, my powers were a siren to any demons that strayed in the human world, so it made sense to continue developing my powers.

To that end, I waved my hands vaguely in the direction of the ward-inscribed vial, pulling on my defense.

With a wail, Imp went flying through the air, and landed in Kurama's waiting hands... again.

Bored with the repetitiveness of my failure, I sighed heavily and let my mind drift over past events. After we'd successfully wrapped up the mission at Tarukane's, Yukina had left, leaving Kuwabara lamenting on the loss of his love, and Botan adoringly commenting on their nonexistent "long distance relationship".

I missed her—the demure little ice apparition was a good friend, a good listener. But she explained that she would be happier back at her home, and left it at that.

Soon afterwards, though, I quickly came preoccupied with my new training. In other words, I commenced torturing Imp under the watch of a very patient Kurama. He remarked that something akin to a different power was manifesting within me, and became curiously devoted to drawing it out of me, despite my spiritually stunted retardedness.

It was a baby step from my new "projection" power- and it actually worked... to a small, pitiful extent.

Kurama had me conjuring tiny spheres of my spiritual energy. That, I could do. It was surprisingly easy to focus it—and that was the reason that Botan had given me Imp to practice on. To hone and somewhat develop my otherwise pathetic power.

Imp's presence prompted my body to go into "danger" mode—very similar to the reaction I'd had when I'd first met Kurama, before his aura became too familiar to me. The benefit of training with Imp, however, was that although he was whiny and annoying, he was inside a warded vial, which meant I was in no real danger. But I could still use him to draw my power out at will.

I was basically focusing the energy I was already emanating subconsciously- and that was something that Kurama was not precisely aware of. For some reason, I imagined that that knowledge wouldn't make his day.

I could make a tiny, egg-sized ball of hollow, demon-frying electricity materialize in the palm of my hand. And hold it. That was easy.

The hard thing was to make it exist in someplace _outside_ of my hand-even inches away was a major stretch.

What I was _supposed_ to be doing was conjure a circle around Imp's vial. Instead, it materialized a little short of the target—and when the electric sphere popped into existence, it would hit the side of Imp's vial and send him airborne.

...Like so.

"Oh, son of a _whore!_" Imp screeched in his tiny, chipmunk-esque voice as he sailed above our heads and came dangerously close to a naked light bulb. Kurama looked up automatically, bored, and I sighed heavily, burying my face in my hands. Imp fell back to us in a screeching, cursing rush of vertigo, and Kurama deftly flicked out his wrist to catch him.**  
**

"...Again, Reina..."

He set Imp back in the center of the kitchen table, and, with a sigh, I locked onto the tiny demon's aura and lifted my hands.

At that moment, my cat leaped agilely on top of the table, ears perked forward, eyes studying Imp. Imp glared up at Jinx with resentful eyes, arms crossed, a permanent frown fixed on his features.

Jinx then whipped out a paw and batted at the vial, tipping it over and sending it rolling to the edge of the table, Imp swearing at the top of his miniscule lungs the entire way.

"Jinx...!" I chided, lifting the Manx cat off the table—I had forgotten that all animals had a sixth sense—and peering sternly into his bright green eyes. "Bad kitty. Don't eat Reina's guinea pig."

"-Alright, boy... time to go," My father's displeased voice growled from behind me. I jumped, shooting Kurama a frantic look—one that was hardly necessary. Kurama already had Imp tucked safely away in his pocket, and was smiling pleasantly up at my old man.

I turned to give my dad an irritated look. He had taken parental supervision (more like surveillance) to extremes lately, ever since I had returned from my somewhat (half-assed) explained absence that he was still suspicious of.

Oh well. At least mom still liked Kurama.

Dad was still wary of him—convinced that he was a creepy stalker boy or a Peeping Tom—and I would laugh privately to myself every time he mentioned it. He had _no _idea...

"Yes, sir," Kurama answered my father politely, rising to his feet, gathering up his things.

We claimed to be having study sessions during the time that I actually practiced blowing up demons—so there were the necessary things that we needed to complete our ruse... books, for one.

I stood with him, and raked my own portion of schoolwork (schoolwork that I would _really_ have to complete tonight), into a messy pile.

"Thanks for helping me, Shuichi," I said, just loud enough for my father to hear, smiling at Kurama.

"Anytime, Reina," He replied easily, and winked.

I walked with him to the door, my persistent father walking along behind us like a disgruntled, watchful walrus, and shook my head when Kurama discreetly pointed at his pocket, where Imp was. He looked rather disappointed when I didn't take the tiny demon back—Rando had an annoying habit of cursing the entire time you were trying to sleep.

"See you tomorrow, Reina," Kurama called casually, and waved, stepping out onto the sidewalk.

"'Bye, Shuichi," I replied, leaning against the doorframe. With a satisfied grunt, I heard my father walk away, back into the house.

Kurama waved at me one last time, and turned onto a side street. It was a good ten-minute walk back to his house—he lived outside of the city limits—but for him, it wouldn't take more than three minutes if he ran. So I didn't feel too guilty when he set off after nightfall.

I walked back into the house, then grabbed the doorknob to pull the door shut.

A foot wedged itself between the door and the doorway, blocking it.

I stared at the foot for a second, then looked up.

Ryo grinned down at me. "Now... you wouldn't leave a friend out in the cold, would you? It's October, it's starting to get pretty damn _freezing_."

* * *

"Ryo?" I gasped, releasing the door out of shock, heart lurching into my throat—he must've been standing there the entire time. I glanced desperately up the street, searching for help—but Kurama was already gone.

"Yep, it's me. Happy to see me?" Ryo drawled.

I glared at him for a long moment, then stepped outside and quietly closed the door behind me, so I wouldn't alert my parents, and turned on him.

"Where did you get the _nerve,"_ I hissed, fixing him with the most livid look I could manage, "To come _here...? _Your betrayal almost got me _killed,_ Ryo!"

Ryo laughed coldly. "Not here for you, Reina. Don't flatter yourself. I actually need you to give something to this demonic boyfriend of yours..." And he pulled a thin, sealed envelope out of his pocket, waving it tauntingly.

I ignored the cut, eyes following the letter as he waved it in front of my face. I reached out and took a corner of the envelope with the tips of my fingers, tugging it out of his grasp.

"What is it... anthrax...?" I guessed scathingly, holding the letter gingerly, like a poisonous spider.

"A letter from my boss, actually... an invitation," Ryo sneered.

I glared at him for a minute, then flipped the letter over and read the writing there.

"To Kurama... and Hiei," I said slowly, reading it off the envelope. I frowned, then looked up.

"Why didn't you just give this to Kurama yourself?" I demanded suspiciously.

Ryo laced his hands behind his head, and smirked down at me, mahogany eyes glinting with malice. "A matter of self-respect," He bragged casually, "It would hurt my ego to hand-deliver a note to a freakish, silver-haired demon with fluffy ears sticking out of his head and a tail hanging out of his ass. Even _you_ are better company when compared to that abomination."

I processed the claim, then lifted an eyebrow. "Kurama... has red hair," I said slowly, uncomprehending and irritated, "normal ears... and I'm _pretty_ sure he doesn't have a tail..."

Ryo shot me a confused look, then his face settled back into his cocky expression, and he laughed once, disparagingly. "Oh yeah... I forgot. You can only see your _dear_ demon's _human_ form, and I..." Ryo tapped his temple, grinning in a superior way, "can see straight down to his core. What he really is. A bloodthirsty, furry, _demon."_

"...His demon form...?" I realized after a beat. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "But... nevermind that. Get out of here, Ryo." My voice shook, my fury coming back in full force, without bafflement to hinder it. "Or you'll see just how _bloodthirsty_ Kurama _can_ be."

Ryo grinned, aloof. "Just give that letter to the demon you've got the hots for," He ordered, smirking.

I flushed—more angry than anything—and spat, "Let's make one thing clear. Kurama is a friend. A _loyal_ friend. Unlike..." I turned away from Ryo, stepping out into the sidewalk and shooting the insinuation over my shoulder, "_some _people."

"Sure, sure," Ryo retorted, following me off of the threshold, walking next to me, "maybe you could take some lessons from him," he advised flatly, and took my arm, spinning me around with a jerk. I froze, and glared at him. "About _not_ turning your friends into Spirit World. 'Cause..."

I looked up to give him a glare, and Ryo dropped his hand, backing off in the other direction, waving tauntingly, "You need 'em, Reina."

* * *

"Kurama...! Hold it—" I gasped, running up behind him, bare feet pounding the dark and empty streets.

He turned, frowning in surprise. "Reina... what...?" He asked confusedly, holding out a hand to steady me as I slipped to an unbalanced stop.

"For... you..." I panted, and held up the letter, bent over in half, and gave him a grim look. "Ryo and I had a little talk..."

"Ryo?" He asked sharply, eyes narrowing. I was stunned into silence for a moment—I had forgotten how much Kurama didn't like Ryo.

"Didn't like'"was clearly an understatement. For the second time since I've known him, Kurama actually looked livid. It was disconcerting—the expression on his face _wasn't _human, and I was very much aware of it.

I cringed away from him, and meekly offered him the envelope. His furious expression softened a little—surprised at my reaction—and he took it, ripping it open and pulling out the letter.

He read it in silence.

I kept my eyes trained intently on his face, warily anticipating the next feral emotion that would cloud it.

But, instead of fury, his features melted into dread.

"What?" I asked, eyes wide on his face. "Kurama...?"

Instead of answering, he sank to sit on the curb, dropping the letter on the sidewalk, and held his head in his hands.

"Kurama...!"

I kneeled next to him, put a hand on his shoulder. "Kurama, what is it...?"

He didn't answer. He didn't move.

My blood—churning subtly at his familiar aura—turned to ice. There was a peculiar sinking feeling deep in my gut—fear… and worry, I realized. Fear of what Kurama was afraid of. I had _never_ seen him like this. Not once.

"Tell me," I breathed.

He lifted his head slowly, gaze unfocused, expression unfathomable.

Then he told me.

* * *

"You don't... have a choice...?" I asked weakly, after he explained the contents of the letter—apparently an invitation to the infamous Dark Tournament—and what it meant for him. And Hiei, as well.

Hiei, I didn't care about.

Kurama, I did.

His eyes were empty—blank and disbelieving. Like he had just heard his own death sentence. Like he had just heard the last nail hammered into his coffin.

It was just as frightening as his furious response to the mention of Ryo's name.

"No." Kurama said, voice hollow, bleak. "It's do or die... and we very well may die while doing it."

"I thought that Yusuke _killed_ Toguro..." I whispered, hand falling from his shoulder, staring unseeingly at the ground.

"A ruse," Kurama's voice was desolate. "All a ruse. Toguro is very much alive. And now..." He waved to the letter, eyes hopeless and austere, and his voice trailed off into silence. Utter silence.

I was so used to hearing him talk—making cryptic, amused remarks all the time—so used to it that the silence was deafening. It roared in my ears... and I couldn't stand it.

More specifically, I couldn't stand to see _him_ this way. It was not... right.

I needed to be alone.

"Go," I murmured. "tell Hiei."

He lifted his gaze from his unseeing fixation on the pavement, to give me a vaguely puzzled look. There wasn't enough emotion in his eyes to claim bewilderment. His eyes were dead—hopeless. He had accepted the fact that he was doomed to failure- and I was desperate to wipe its scar off his face.

He stood woodenly, wordlessly pulling me to my feet with an subconscious grip on my elbow.

Then, with a mute nod, he simply disappeared.

* * *

Yusuke and Kuwabara had not been spared the same dismal fate.

They had all been invited to the Dark Tournament—Hiei, Kuwabara, Yusuke, Kurama... to compete as a team. They were... honored guests.

Kurama and Hiei were as ready as they would ever be, according to Kurama.

Yusuke and Kuwabara were far from it.

Yusuke was getting training from someone called Genkai—and Kuwabara was getting trained by Hiei and Kurama.

I could do nothing to help. But I watched, unable to stay home and sit while they were training to save themselves, unable to wait until the Tournament came, and then be part of the group. Botan was busy warding off Keiko, who was still in the dark about the comings and goings of the supernatural. I envied her—obliviousness would be welcome to knowing what was in store for the boys.

I would rather be clueless than see the consuming fear that manifested itself into obsessive determination as they trained, day in, day out for the tournament.

...But, I couldn't seem to stay away. Though their neurotic focus on _surviving _made me feel like I was swirling in an endless void, numb, worthless to them, I was drawn to their training because it was the only thing I _could_ do.

This masochism had fixated itself in the sleepless night after Ryo had literally delivered their death sentence. I didn't sleep, and I decided to see this through.

"I'm going with you," I told Kurama bluntly the next day at school.

He took one look at my haunted expression, and didn't say a word against it.

* * *

That day, Hiei and Kurama started training Kuwabara—while I watched.

I knew I wasn't helping anybody... but I couldn't look away as Kuwabara was beaten bloody by Hiei—who threw punches too swiftly to be seen by the human eye. Hiei also recognized the gravity of the situation—only bothering to shoot me a single, fiery glare before he committed himself to brutally instruct Kuwabara in the ways of survival.

He only spent an hour working, then vanished with a disapproving "Hn," leaving Kuwabara bloodied and disheartened and writhing on the forest floor.

Kurama didn't help all that much either.

"Hiei went easy on you... because of your weakness and his honor," Kurama said quietly to Kuwabara, who was barely on his feet in the aftermath of Hiei's assault. "I will not."

"Alright, quit talkin' and _bring it!"_ Kuwabara ordered, bloodied face taut with tension. He braced himself, trembling in exhaustion.

"As you wish."

* * *

Almost—but not quite—a minute later, Kurama was looking down at an unconscious Kuwabara in disappointment, frowning. Then he looked up at me.

"Today was just a test—to see what he was capable of," Kurama informed me. He sighed wearily, and looked back down at Kuwabara, eyes distant, worried. "This is not encouraging."

I stood, walked closer, then kneeled next to Kuwabara. "Poor kid... he has a lot of work to do." I glanced up at Kurama. "That was just shy of murder, Kurama..."

He forced a slightly more pleasant expression. It didn't reach his eyes.

"Would you care to try…?" He held up a hand in a 'come hither' gesture, inviting me to fight.

I gawked. Then frowned at his innocently curious expression.

"You're joking, right?" I asked incredulously, rising to my feet and crossing my arms, giving Kurama a dubious look. "I'm less than half his size... and I didn't spend my childhood brawling on the streets, you know..."

"You need practice," Kurama decided, turning on his heel and walking off a few yards. He turned, and forced another distant smile. "Besides... I'll go easy on you. Despite what the look on your face says," he tapped his temple, "I _do_ have a moral code."

"But I won't," I replied, stepping warily over the motionless Kuwabara. "Go easy on you, I mean... because I don't have a chance at beating you." I frowned. "Or, apparently, a choice in the matter."

He beamed. "None whatsoever. So now... I suppose I'll start."

And he disappeared.

Before I could even lock onto his aura, he spoke quietly behind me, "A little too fast, I think..." he mused speculatively.

I yelped and spun around, jumping backwards in an ungraceful lurch. Then I gave him a reproachful look. "I'd say..." I grumbled, the venom in my voice marred by my breathlessness.

"Well..." he said, and smiled. "Try to project your energy. And then throw it at me."

I gave him a blank look.

"You want me to lob a ball of demon-incinerating electricity at you?" I asked in stunned disbelief.

"Yes." He clasped his hands behind his back, and smiled calmly. "Gloves off."

I didn't make a move to obey him. "When did you suddenly decide to be a _masochistic_ demon, Kurama...?" I laughed nervously, backing off a step, and nearly tripping over Kuwabara. "Because there's no way that I—"

"—Reina, it doesn't hurt me," he reasoned easily, and gestured for me to do this thing, still smiling mildly, and, when I looked closer, amusedly. "And you need to practice..." a shadow darkened his expression, "if you insist on coming with us..."

"Forget it," I said, turning and stalking over to the tree I had been sitting against, and started to gather my things. "I'm not going to use you as a demonic punching bag—even if you say it doesn't hurt you- "

"-Reina..."

"Because you're just trying to be macho- "

"-Look at me- "

"-And it's _not_ working- "

He caught my arm deftly, halting me in the middle of picking up my jacket. I jerked my head up sharply to give him a baleful look. It wavered slightly when flames burned through my mind, scrambling my thought hopelessly- and when I met his focused, intense stare.

"What?" I grumbled, frowning nervously.

He stared at me for a long moment.

"Please?" He implored quietly.

I glared at him, very aware of my will crumbling into dust. His gaze didn't waver an inch.

"Ugh, fine!" I huffed, giving up, dropping my things. I straightened up, and his hand fell away from my elbow, as he smiled in a superior sort of way.

Though I hated the idea of making a fool of myself, Kurama was actually smiling, losing all traces of the tired, cheerless expression that had been cemented onto his features.

"But you _know_ I'm not going to beat you..." I growled, crossing my arms, hiding a smile at his change in mood.

He grinned, then said in a completely amused voice, "That's not the point. The point is to help you get better at controlling your power, Reina..." He backed off a few steps, then gestured for me to proceed, "that's all."

I gave him a long, suspicious look. His pleasant expression didn't change.

With a long-suffering sigh, I ripped off my gloves, tossing them to the ground, then drew on my power. With some effort, an electric sphere flickered into existence in the palm of my hand, casting eerie shadows up my bare, pale arm.

Suddenly, Kurama was on my left, crouched, ready.

"Wha—!" I gasped, and the orb died in my hand. "You moved," I accused, focusing on my defense, frowning. The sphere crackled back to life.

"That's the point, Reina," Kurama explained. "Rando can't move around—you need to hit a moving target—"

And I heaved the crackling orb at him.

...where it died, five feet short.

I frowned unhappily, impatiently, at the place where my pitiful sphere had met its maker, then lifted my gaze to meet Kurama's.

"I was fooling you, Kurama," I said, shooting him a disgruntled look. "I would've been good, too—if I wasn't spiritually retarded." I sighed then, and rubbed at my forehead, very much aware of the toll that pitiful attack had taken on my energy.

"It's halfhearted," Kurama observed mildly, walking over to stand in front of me, looking down at me kindly. "Reina, you always seem to have a reason to be angry with me. Just..." he shrugged, "try to get revenge."

I gave him a curious look. "I'm never _mad_ at you, Kurama," I said. "I mean... even with that Peeping Demon stunt you pulled..." Kurama grimaced, "I was just annoyed. Not angry..."

"Oh?" He frowned thoughtfully. Then his face cleared and a small, frightening smile slid on his features. I instantly became nervous, and recoiled a step.

"Then..." Kurama said, the evil smirk growing more prominent on his features, eyes glinting in frightening mischief, "sink or swim... Reina."

Behind me, out of nowhere, a demonic aura flared up, spreading... advancing.

With a cry, I whirled around, slipping and falling to my knees, eyes squeezing shut of their own accord, and pulled (yanked, really) on my defense, waving my hands wildly.

_BOOM._

I stared up in stunned horror as an enormous, white thing fell straight at me, crackling and popping.

There was a rush of wind- something yanking me up out of harm's way before I could even take a breath to scream- and I watched the white thing crash to the ground in a puff of fluffy whiteness.

...Where, a half second before, I had been kneeling.

"...Well, the escape could've gone better," Kurama mused, observing the ruins of the plant he had animated with vague interest, holding me in his arms like it was nothing, "but... you did kill it. Good job." And he smiled down at me.

I stared at him blankly for a long moment, then unclenched my fingers from where they had latched themselves onto his jacket collar, and reached out, grabbing a portion of debris that was floating around from the aftermath of the plant's demise. Then I offered it to Kurama, incredulous, arm trembling from the weight.

"You sent a killer _dandelion_ after me?" I asked, disbelieving, and dropped the overlarge seed, where it drifted to the ground, caught a breeze, then floated up past us.

He smirked. "It's a good motivation," he rationalized, and set my back on my feet. "And... it worked."

We brought Kuwabara home, then parted ways.

When I glanced back to look at him as he walked away, I saw the grim, foreboding look slip back onto his features.

* * *

Time passed. Slow at first—the days winding in and out of each other in a languid blur of sweat, blood, training, and desperation.

Then quickly, speeding by as our dread grew, tossing together time and space and hurdling us forward into a grim, uncertain future.

Two months passed.

* * *

**This outtake takes place right after the "killer dandelion" part. My sister wrote it a couple years back, when this story was first uploaded.**

I stared at him. Then sneezed. He looked at me curiously.

"Did you know…?" I said in a low, dangerous voice, glowering up at him in a way that made him visibly cringe. "I'M ALLERGIC TO DANDELIONS!"

"Is that even possible…?"

"YES IT'S FREAKIN' POSSIBLE BECAUSE WHEN I WAS FOUR I FELL INTO A PATCH OF THEM AND BROKE OUT IN HIVES SO SHUT THE HELL UP!"

He blinked. Twice. I was frothing at the mouth by now, too busy scratching frantically at my itchy arms to take a retaliatory swipe at his bewildered face.

"I'm sure if you just take…a bubble bath…"

"BUBBLE BATH?" I ceased scratching for a moment to advance on him aggressively; he retreated, throwing his hands out as if to ward me off. "I'M ALLERGIC TO THEM TOO! THEY MAKE ME ITCH IN PLACES – I CAN'T EVEN TELL YOU!"

**Haha, hoped you liked it.**

**Review! :D**


	16. Just the Beginning

**Thanks you _Wolf-Maiden Mitsuki_, _MizuKaji_, and _Otaku_-_neku_ for reviewing! :)**

* * *

"_Fighting is essentially a masculine idea; a woman's weapon is her tongue."_

_- Hermione Gingold_

Just the Beginning

* * *

The Dark Tournament.

A martial arts competition that consisted of teams made of bloodthirsty demons—monsters who lived for the fight...

...And my friends. Oh, and Hiei, too.

As we stood in silence, in mute farewell, I wondered desperately where the time had gone.

These months had passed so quickly, running together in a whirlwind and leaving us windblown and dazed, hopeless and burdened with dread. The boys had gotten stronger, I knew—but at the same time I wondered grimly if it would be enough for what they were about to face.

"Kurama..." I began.

His eyes, which had been staring off unseeingly into the distance, as he thought his own thoughts, flicked down to regard me with a carefully calm façade.

The fear was there, though. Mindfully hidden, granted—but his expression was off and I could see the consuming dismay in it.

I took a breath and forced a smile.

"I'll be there in a couple days," I said hollowly, the smile feeling very misplaced on my face. "Botan's still trying to find a way... but I'll be there."

There was a problem. The Dark Tournament was held in the Human World—which was no crisis... but Botan had told me that there were going to be demons present. A lot. Humans would be in the minority... and that was the dilemma.

My defense would be uncontrollable, which meant setting foot on the island would probably knock me into a coma. But we were determined to find a way around that.

There _had_ to be a way.

Instead of smiling, or answering, Kurama simply studied me, eyes wandering over my features with distant interest, muted sadness.

"It will be all right," he said finally, quietly. His green eyes held my blue ones. "You're afraid... and worried," He elaborated in a monotone.

"Not without good reason," I murmured, brushing the scar on my cheek with my fingertips, averting my gaze. The blemish was from my encounter with the Hiruseki Stone—a tiny, crescent-shaped mark on my cheekbone.

From when Toguro first took interest in Yusuke's fighting skills... and, to that end, sent out invitations to the Tournament via Ryo... I stopped rubbing the scar.

Kurama smiled faintly. "True," he agreed.

We looked off in different directions, thinking our own thoughts.

"Botan wanted me to meet her at Yusuke's mom's apartment," I said, making small talk. Kurama glanced back over at me. "...She said that she was onto something..." I met his gaze, and grimaced, "about controlling my defense for the Tournament."

He nodded.

We had run into several dead ends over the course of the fast-paced two months. Botan was now asking Koenma about barrier amulets—trinkets that would prevent my power from flaring out and draining me of energy.

There was really nothing more to say. We stood in procrastinating silence for a minute, prolonging the time until we had to part ways.

Or at least, that was _my_ ulterior motive.

I didn't want to just turn and leave, so I stepped closer to him and curled a gloved arm tightly around his waist, hugging him briefly, my chin resting on his shoulder. I wished I could stay there, with him—wished this wasn't happening.

But it was, and I had to let him go.

I stepped back and did my best to smile at him. "See you, Kurama."

* * *

The tournament itself would last about a week. Botan had helped me fabricate an excuse to ward off my parents.

Not another sleepover- we both remembered how well _that_ had worked.

It was a bogus winter camp—that lasted just as long as the Dark Tournament did. With about a week extra, in case the fights lasted longer than expected. Kurama used the same ruse for his mother. It was sheer luck that the Tournament was during our winter break from school, so I wouldn't have to worry about getting the school's permission as well.

So my schedule was cleared. My parents were actually under the impression that I had left three days ago—I was staying at Yusuke's apartment with his mom and Botan.

His mother Atsuko, like Keiko, was oblivious to the true whereabouts of her son. Instead of fretting, she doused her worries and irritation in alcohol. Almost every time I saw her, she was passed out somewhere... which worked well, because it would've been difficult to explain Rando to her. Botan had taken him back to Reikai yesterday—my power simply couldn't be honed. We had tried everything.

Now we were just trying to figure out a way to get to the Dark Tournament.

Botan and I had already found a way to _get_ to the Tournament. We were taking a boat—one of the few ferries that shuttled demons living in the Human World to Hanging Neck Island. The "camp's" fee would easily cover the cost of our tickets, and the cost of the hotel we were staying in was funded by Reikai, because Botan was with us.

Keeping me conscious when I set foot on the island was our second goal, one that we frantically worked to meet in the dirty, trash-bag littered, alcohol-stinky apartment that was the joint property of Yusuke and his welfare-happy mother.

When I walked into the apartment, Atsuko was snoring away at the desk by the door, a small puddle of drool gathering on the desktop. With a single amused look in her direction, I slipped off my shoes at the threshold and padded further into the apartment, awkwardly waving my arms to maintain balance as I dodged the trash bags scattered everywhere.

I stumbled against the doorframe of Yusuke's bedroom, clutching it with both hands and peering around for Botan, who was usually inside.

"-Easy now! No need to get... uh... violent...!" I heard Botan's shrill voice beg nervously. "Hehe…"

I paused at the doorway of the bedroom, looking in on the scene warily.

Botan was crouched on the carpet, against the western style bed, hands up as if to ward off a blow. Shizuru and Keiko loomed over her, fury in their eyes—Keiko almost frothing at the mouth:

"We _know_ that you know Botan! Where's Yusuke?"

"- And my baby brother too," Shizuru added in a commanding voice. "He hasn't come home for days."

"—And neither of them gave us a _phone call!"_ Keiko maledicted, voice deadly.

"Yes, I understand you're worried! But... boys will be boys!" Botan replied with false cheer, laughing nervously and rubbing at the back of her head.

"_Mine_ won't," Shizuru growled, leaning into Botan's face, the lit end of her cigarette inches from the Grim Reaper's nose. Botan's eyes crossed to stare at it warily.

"Now..." Shizuru said, the tone of her voice becoming quiet, ordering, "I want you to tell me _exactly_ where Kazuma and Yusuke are."

"—Please!" Keiko begged, her voice losing its venom, "for our friendship!"

Botan was getting nervous. She shrunk into the side of the mattress, stammering, "It's just.. uh, well..."

"_Now!"_ Shizuru demanded, whipping her cigarette out of her mouth so she could frown down at Botan, eyes sparking.

"—Yes but—"

"—Botan!" Keiko pleaded, rushing to her side and kneeling, taking the girl's arm.

Botan eyed Keiko, then Shizuru. Her eyes were wide, frightened—and, most of all—conflicted. She spotted me, and shot me a desperate look. I shook my head.

"Koenma's going to kill you... but if you don't tell them what's going on, _they'll _kill you," I muttered, lifting an eyebrow in her direction. "Which is the lesser of two evils?"

Keiko rounded on me, just noticing that I was there. "Reina..." she said slowly, "you... know...?"

Shizuru followed Keiko's gaze, and, after a beat, I nodded.

"I've known for quite some time now," I replied, averring my gaze.

There was a long silence, during which Botan edged away from the glowing end of Shizuru's cigarette, and Keiko gaped openmouthed at me, eyes hurt.

"Tell them, Botan," I said, nodding encouragingly, resignedly. "They deserve to know."

"Alright..." Botan gave in, sitting back on her heels. She looked between Keiko and Shizuru, eyes earnest. "but _promise_ not to faint..."

* * *

"...So they're fighting in something called the Dark Tournament...?" Shizuru asked, skepticism clear in her tone.

Keiko chewed frantically on her nails, looking at me, then Botan, then me again.

"Against teams of monsters from an entirely different world...!" She squeaked.

I reached out and patted her shoulder, from the mattress that I had sat on during the course of Botan's explanation. "That's right."

Keiko blinked. Twice.

"Oh... Okay..."

She sank to the floor.

"Oh...!" Botan exclaimed, catching Keiko as she fell, and shaking her. When Keiko's head lolled limply from side to side, Botan sighed deeply. "I was afraid that this was going to happen..."

"Maybe we should just... leave her...?" I suggested quietly.

Keiko immediately snapped out of her swoon, taking Botan's arm and fixing her with a steely gaze. "Now listen," Keiko ordered. "You _have_ to take me there."

"Eh..." Botan said helplessly, looking up at Shizuru for help.

Shizuru shook her head. "I'm going too."

* * *

"It's... enormous..." I said simply, in awe, head craned back to look up at the stadium.

It was an ominous sight—the stone walls rose up against the blackness of an oncoming storm. As I stared at it, a streak of lightening lit up the sky. Ten seconds later, thunder rumbled in the distance.

I reached up to fiddle with the amulet Botan had given me—a blood-red stone suspended from a chain around my neck.

The Barrier Stone. Or so Botan said.

_It does the job well_, I mused, glancing down at it.

My wildfire alert was nothing—I couldn't sense anything. And everywhere I turned, an apparition of some sort was standing around, giving our group of human girls confused—and malicious—looks.

Which was slightly disconcerting—I was used to feeling demons when they came at me. I wanted to be ready if they tried anything.

The pendant was useful, but it had its downsides. Botan had given it to me with careful instructions—the trinket would cast a barrier around me—not for protection, but for obstruction. It wouldn't let any of my electric, uncontrollable aura escape. Meaning my energy, which was supposed to be inside me, remained so and therefore kept me conscious.

But, like all good things, there was a catch. If I deliberately tried to use my power, the stone would drain my aura away from me, separate it from me, rendering me as helpless as any other human girl. Weak and defenseless.

Moreso than I already was, that is.

Of course, if I was familiar with my aura, the pendant would be a useful weapon. I could store tiny amounts of my energy in it, until it accumulated into an explosive force. Then I could let it out all at once.

But I was hardly familiar with my aura, so for the time being, I tucked it away into my shirt and resigned myself to being spiritually numbed to my surroundings.

Besides, I was walking with Keiko, Shizuru, and Botan, so I had nothing to fear, really. Keiko was the abusive girlfriend type and was notorious for slapping around Yusuke on occasion; Shizuru I had never seen in action, but from the way she carried herself (and given that she was the eldest Kuwabara) I assumed she was dangerous; and finally, Botan was the grim reaper. Enough said.

"Is that _you_ Koenma...?" Botan asked incredulously, staring at something behind me. I turned.

A teenage boy walked up to us, nodding aloofly. I recognized one thing—the pacifier sticking out of his mouth.

"_That's_ Koenma?" I hissed to Botan, lifting an eyebrow. I hid my mouth with my hand, asking in undertone, "what happened to the toddler...?"

"It's a doozy of a costume!" Botan agreed cheerily.

Teenaged Koenma coughed in an important way, shooting Botan a severe look. Botan fell silent, and giggled. I could've sworn I saw her blush.

"Whoa! I see my majesty is a _stud!_" A stumpy, lizard like demon observed appreciatively, peering around Koenma's kneecaps, up at us, with a fanged grin. "Are _all_ these girls with _you_?"

"_Excuse _me?" I growled down at the demon, half-tempted to jerk the pendant over my head and give him a little bit of shock treatment. I fingered the thin chain menacingly; the demon just smirked.

"No," Koenma said in a pompous sort of way, glancing over at me with a sly smirk. I flushed. "These are the sisters, and girlfriends of the Urameshi Team. And the blue-haired one..." Koenma shot Botan a disapproving look, lifting an eyebrow, daring her to object, "obviously has no ability whatsoever in keeping _secrets_..."

I rolled my eyes at how he introduced me, frowning slightly at the assumption. Botan's blush deepened, and she muttered in sullen undertone to me, "Oh... they always get so _mean_ when they're handsome…!"

Koenma directed a bow to Keiko, Shizuru, and I, introducing himself. "I'm Koenma. I'm very cool."

I tried not to laugh at the claim (due to my first impression of him, a few months ago), and failed miserably, stuffing a fist in my mouth to stifle my less-than-respectful response. Koenma straightened up, frowned at my derisive giggles, and ordered, "Let's get going."

He swept past us, head high, robes fluttering behind him. I glanced questioningly up at Botan. She shrugged, still blushing from Koenma's cut, and turned to follow him, linking our arms together to pull us into the crowded, thunderous stadium.

* * *

Naturally, the boys were up first... Team Urameshi against Team Rokuyukai. The battle had already started when Botan, Keiko, Shizuru and I edged into some empty seats. The demons left us alone—they were too busy watching Kuwabara getting beat up by some punk kid down in the center of the ring. From our altitude, all we could see was a tiny pink blur dancing playfully around Kuwabara—presumably the childlike Rinku of Team Rokuyukai as evidenced by the scoreboard—and a speck of orange standing in the center (Kuwabara) turning on the spot dazedly as he was pummeled by his opponent.

"My brother's just standing there," Shizuru said, disgruntled, staring at the fight with a grimace.

"It's awful..." Keiko murmured, shading her eyes with her hand, to better see the fight below. Not that it would help much—thunderheads darkened the sky, so there wasn't any sun to block.

We had probably gotten the worst seats. Impossibly high and far away—even Kuwabara's bulk could be dwarfed by an _ant_.

The opponent was a mere blur, whipping around Kuwabara. At least, from what I could see. I was on the edge of my seat, trying to follow the kid's movements...

...then suddenly, Kuwabara was facedown on the arena's floor.

Keiko, Botan, and I gasped in unison; Shizuru grumbled an explicative under her breath.

"One..."

"When the announcer reaches ten, he's lost..." Botan told us quietly, chewing anxiously on her fingernails.

"Two..."

Around us, the demonic attendants of the fight were wild with bloodlust, excited at Kuwabara's defenselessness.

"_Kill_ 'im, kid…!"

"GO TEAM ROKUYUKAI!"

I bit my tongue—calling out in Kuwabara's defense was probably not a good idea. I settled on glaring about me, at each of the rabidly obsessed apparitions.

"Three, four, five..."

"Do you think he's... alright...?" I asked worriedly, turning my gaze from a whistling demon to look down at the still motionless Kuwabara, rising to my feet to get a better look. "I didn't even see what happened..."

"Six, seven..."

"He's getting up...!" Keiko called shrilly, jumping to her feet and pointing imperiously in Kuwabara's direction.

Kuwabara stood.

"He's okay..." I breathed, flopping back down in my seat.

"He really is _something,"_ Botan said, smiling in a relieved sort of way.

Shizuru was no longer disappointed. With a snort, she threw her cigarette to the ground and dug at it with her heel.

"He's my _brother._ What else do you expect?" She said, voice indifferent as usual, but looked down on her sibling with sisterly fondness.

"I _love _it!" The announcer squealed excitedly, turning to face the people (as in Keiko, Shizuru, Botan, and I), and demons (as in everybody else), in the stands. "Just when we thought it was over, the two are facing off _again!"_

Rinku and Kuwabara stood stiffly, facing each other.

"The tournament's first fight is locked in a stare down!" The announcer said, turning back to look at the opponents. "Who'll throw the next punch...?"

* * *

"C'mon, we have to get closer!" I yelled over a roll of thunder—the bad weather I had noticed earlier was breaking over the open-topped stadium.

We were running down to ground level, to get a better look.

Because Kuwabara hung suspended over the stadium.

Apparently, from what the commentator had excitedly yelled... from yo-yos.

I had seen weird. I had seen lethal dandelions. I had seen demons who could move at speeds that probably rivaled the speed of light. I had seen three-eyed midget apparitions.

But I had never seen yo-yos used as weapons.

"Reina...!"

I skidded to a stop, cursing myself, as a hulking demon stepped into my path.

A hand took my elbow and tugged me back. I stumbled backwards with a cry as Keiko pulled me back, and fell to my knees on the concrete stairs. The demon loomed over Keiko and I, grinning.

"This tournament's not for little human girls," it growled, leaning in our faces, putrid breath making my nose wrinkle. "Go back where you came from."

"Make me," I snarled, and gripped the amulet, ready to cast it off if the demon attacked. It was a definite possibility—the apparition's eyes narrowed at my refusal.

"Say that _again...!"_

The demon lunged at us, hands outstretched to throttle us, and Keiko's scream was lost in the appreciative roar of the demonic crowd as Kuwabara whirled above our heads.

_Hissss._

The demon stared down his nose at Shizuru's cigarette (newly lit), then, with a howl, it threw itself backwards, clutching at it's enormous, deformed tongue. Where Shizuru had just ground out her cigarette.

"T-thanks," Keiko stammered, looking up at Shizuru in awe. Shizuru made a small noise of assent, and tossed her cigarette—which was dripping with demonic saliva—over her shoulder.

"C'mon!" Keiko said, pulling me to my feet. We leaped down the stairs two at a time, until we were at the wall that separated the arena from the stands. Then we turned to follow the barrier around the arena, skidding to a halt until we were right behind the whole Urameshi Team. Keiko gripped the top of the wall, glaring down at Yusuke, who appeared to be...

…Sleeping?

"What's the _matter_ with you, Yusuke?" She yelled, knuckles turning white as her nails dug into the concrete. "Your friends _need _you now! Think about that...!"

I rubbed my arm where Keiko had grabbed it to tug me along, and glanced up as Shizuru and Botan came level with us.

Botan looked up, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Hang tight, Kuwabara!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, so the carrot-topped speck could hear her. "I... don't suppose you can fly, can you...?"

"Don't die!" I advised.

The speck twitched. "Oh, hey, Botan, Sparky! Ack...! Hey, _Sis_! Uh... I didn't know you were here...!" Kuwabara's voice echoed down to us. "Uh... I'd give you a better greeting but I'm kinda busy right now...!"

"Rinku seems to be hesitating!" The announcer said into her microphone. "Why don't we ask the fans what _they _want...?"

This query was answered by a swelling roar of appreciative demonic fans, bellowing maledicting things like:

"_KILL HIM...!"_

"DROP 'IM LIKE A STONE!"

"_DROP _'IM!_"_

"Well, Rinku...?" The announcer questioned, skipping to the child's side and offering him the microphone. "What're you going to do...?"

Our group waited breathlessly for the verdict.

The kid looked up at the announcer, arms uplifted, suspending Kuwabara in the air with the yo-yos attached to his fingers. Then he grinned.

"Gotta give my fans what they want, right...?" Rinku said in a juvenile, childishly ecstatic voice. "And they want... a _drop...!"_

And his arms fell to his sides.

With a strangled yell, Kuwabara began falling.

"_Kuwabara...!" _I screamed, eyes straining to see him, the storm breaking and sending wind funneling through the stadium, whipping my hair into my eyes. Kuwabara was buffeted from his altitude, spinning wildly, uncontrollably, then...

"_SPIRIT SWORD...!"_

The glowing manifestation of Kuwabara's spirit energy erupted from his outthrown arms, growing, turning the arena below him into a violent shade of orange...

And the tip of it connected with the arena's slated ground, bending, twisting and...

"It broke his fall!" I yelled excitedly, pumping a victorious fist in the air. "_GO KUWABARA...!"_

Then the Spirit Sword snapped back like a rubber band, catapulting him forward, across the arena.

Where he was promptly, violently thrown backwards by lethal yo-yos, back from whence he came, slamming with a painful-sounding _WHAM_ only several yards away from where we were standing. The concrete wall trembled from the impact, shaking my hands.

The ecstatic grin on my face froze, blood slithering from my face. Beside me, the girls all had a similar expression on their faces: Horror.

"They both got clean hits!" The announcer managed, after gawking in Kuwabara's direction, then whipping her head around to stare at the other side of the arena, where, presumably, Rinku had disappeared. "I- I guess I'll start the count...!" The announcer lifted a hand in the air, preparing to signal the first count. "And then we'll call it a draw!"

"_Wait...!"_ A tiny, juvenile voice called out, high-pitched and breathless.

Then, Rinku rolled back into the ring, staggering to his feet.

"Oh," The announcer said, then laughed. "Alright! Count for Kuwabara!"

"One!"

"_WHAT_ DID YOU SAY, URAMESHI...?" Kuwabara bellowed suddenly, lurching to his feet below us, and stalking over to his invalid comrade. "SAY IT TO MY _FACE...!"_

"—Two!"

I leaned over the wall, cupping my hands around my mouth. "Get back in the _ring_, Kuwabara! Yusuke's _asleep,_ you idiot...!"

He didn't even hear me, bellowing curses and general Yusuke-slandering insults at the top of his lungs.

"Three, four, five...!"

"_KAZUMA!"_ Shizuru yelled suddenly, and her arm flicked out past my nose with blinding speed, making me jerk back with a small noise of terror.

Her box of cigarettes bounced off Kuwabara's head, and he jerked his head up, looking about him stupidly, with his mouth hanging open in an "o" of surprise.

"Six, seven..."

Kuwabara then seemed to realize what was happening, and jumped to his feet, dropping the (still snoring) Yusuke.

"Eight!"

He made a flying leap for the ring...

And the yo-yos, which had been discarded on the ground, whipped back to life and wrapped themselves around Kuwabara, pinning his arms to his sides and holding his legs together until they were immobile.

"Nine...!"

Kuwabara made one last, desperate leap for the ring...

"TEN!"

"No!" I yelled, but my voice was lost in the roar of the ecstatic demonic fans.

Shizuru reached for her pocket, then remembered that she had sacrificed her cigarettes to get her sibling's attention. She scowled and crossed her arms, swiping at an invisible cancer stick in her mouth.

"My brother... the idiot."

"And he was _so_ close..." Botan said, stunned gaze still frozen on Kuwabara—who was writhing on the ground in a futilely comical attempt to free himself from the snare of Rinku's yo-yos. Hiei, Kurama, and a short, turban-clad person who I hadn't noticed before just watched Kuwabara's vain struggles.

Keiko simply sighed.

"REINA GET THESE THINGS OFFA ME SO I CAN KICK THAT SHRIMP'S _ASS...!"_ Kuwabara howled, flipping over onto his back, face red from his exertions, and giving me a pleading (yet furious) look.

I sighed, and pulled myself (with some difficulty) on top of the wall. I extended a hand. "Help me down?" I asked wearily, with a long-suffering sigh, eyeing Shizuru with an inquiring look.

She took my hand. "Get my cigarettes, will you? And tell my kid brother that he isn't my kid brother anymore."

"Sure thing."

She lowered me down the wall, reaching as far as she could, then dropped me. I landed, knees bent to absorb the impact, in the grass lining the ring. I brushed myself off and strode over to where Kuwabara was still squirming, still in the snare of Rinku's yo-yos. I nodded a greeting to Kurama, and shot Hiei a mutual glare.

"Smooth one, Kuwabara," I muttered under my breath, then kneeled next to him and gripped the Barrier Stone in my fist, starting to pull it off...

But hesitated.

I bit the inside of my lip as I pondered just how badly it would burn... once I took the amulet off. So many demons... an entire _stadium_ full of them, for holy's sake...

_Well,_ I reasoned, and started to pull if off the rest of the way, _I'll just make this quick and get it back on..._

And I pulled it over my head.

I froze unconsciously for a second, bracing myself...

And then it hit me.

And I laughed once, surprised.

Yes, there was a definite wildfire alert... but it was _hardly_ what I had expected. There was a slight buzzing noise ringing in my head, but it was easily tuned out.

I didn't feel any immediate effects. So maybe I was stronger than I thought.

"Quit _laughin'_ and get me outta this...!" Kuwabara pleaded, wriggling helplessly, looking—forgive the bad analogy—very much like a severed lizard tail.

"Right," I said, and reached for his bonds. There was a spark of electricity, a faint "Oh!" from what I guessed was Rinku, what with his spiritual energy being still attached to his deadly toys, and Kuwabara flexed his arms, wincing as the red welts on them stretched.

With a satisfied nod, I drew the Barrier Stone back over my head, and tucked it back into my shirt, and stood. Didn't make sense to take chances.

"Oh yeah," I said, scooping up Shizuru's cigarettes and tucking them into my pocket. "Shizuru disowned you."

"Help me up," Kuwabara grunted, shrugging at the news. He had probably heard it many times before, anyway—he didn't seem too concerned.

I bent down and clasped both of my hands around one of Kuwabara's wrists, and yanked back. Kuwabara struggled to his feet mostly under his own power, despite the backbreaking force I was using to heft him to his feet. Dear God... how old _was_ this kid...?

My hands slipped, and I stumbled backwards. Someone caught my arm and steadied me.

Kurama's expression was a mixture of puzzlement and intent study. "You're aura's off..." he noted slowly, lifting an eyebrow, letting his hand fall from my elbow.

"Good reason for that," I answered casually, digging Shizuru's cigarettes out of my pocket, and heaving them up in her general direction without so much as a glance. "It's nonexistent."

He frowned, looking suspicious and slightly annoyed. "Now, why—"

"Next up..." The announcer's chipper voice boomed over the loudspeakers, "Kurama versus Roto!"

I glanced up. The opponent was already in the ring—a weedy, bruise-colored demon with a long blade—almost a scythe—growing out of his hand. I suddenly felt cold, and turned away.

"You're up... and besides, it's a long story. I'll explain later," I called over my shoulder, striding over to the wall, where Keiko was attempting to lower Botan down to our level. I reached up and braced her feet with my hands, then looked back.

"Oh..." I added, and forced a smile. "and good luck."

* * *

******Another chapter... I think that brings the count up to six in one day! XD**

**And there's two more that I've already edited and will post soon. :)**


	17. Healthy Respect

_I don't know what a scoundrel is like, but I know what a respectable man is like, and it's enough to make one's flesh creep._

_-Joseph De Maistre_

Healthy Respect

* * *

With a brief, unfathomable look, Kurama turned and leaped into the air, landing silently and smoothly on the tiled ring in a crouch to absorb the impact. Then he stood to his full height, and faced Roto.

There was a long silence.

I held my breath.

"Begin!" The announcer yowled.

Roto rushed forward, pointed teeth bared in a snarl, slinging the deadly end of his sickle at Kurama.

Easily, almost casually, Kurama sidestepped his opponent, crouched slightly, and pivoted into an airborne flip. The blade whistled as it slashed through the air, never touching him, always a few seconds short.

"Waste of time, this," Hiei muttered. "Kurama's way ahead."

"_Reina…!"_ Botan wailed, hands clutching the top of the concrete barrier, feet flailing helplessly in the air. She shot a pleading look over her shoulder.

I tore my eyes from the fight, and helped Botan down into the arena. With a quick hug of thanks, she darted off to attempt to revive the (_still_ sleeping) Yusuke.

"Reina," Shizuru called down to me, a newly lit cigarette hanging from her fingertips, looking down at me from the stands.

"Yeah?" I asked, turning towards her. I fidgeted nervously, hearing the sounds of the battle behind me. It was unnerving… not being able to see it. Shizuru studied me for a second.

She frowned slightly, casting the cigarette over her shoulder. Must be a nervous habit. "That boy you were talking to... he's not human, is he?"

I smiled, understanding, and shook my head to affirm her suspicions.

"No. He's a demon..." I took Shizuru's silence to glance back at the ring, where Kurama was a mere blur, Roto's weapon cutting futilely through the air.

"Hmph," I heard Shizuru say. Then, so low I almost didn't hear it, "be careful, girl."

I pretended not to hear that, and, with a parting wave, I jogged back to where Kuwabara, Hiei, and the short, masked unknown were standing. I stood at Kuwabara's elbow, watching the fight intently, chewing nervously on the inside of my lip.

"Hey, somethin' I was wonderin'..." Kuwabara said, glancing down at Hiei. "Where does Kurama keep his rosewhip...? ' Cause all the places I'm thinking of sound pretty uncomfortable," he grimaced at the implication.

Hiei's eyes followed the fight's progress, and he replied indifferently, not sparing Kuwabara a glance, "in a simple rosebud. In his hands, any plant is a weapon."

"Even a dandelion," I added with a smirk, remembering.

Kuwabara looked down at me. "Uh... dandelion...?" He asked stupidly.

"Long story."

The fight dragged on, and, without conversation to distract me, I became more aware of why my eyes strained to see every aspect of the battle, why I was holding my breath. I let it out in a whoosh.

I grew increasingly anxious as I watched the curved, lethal sickle hiss through the air.

As it cut at Kurama.

It was stupid, I knew—Kurama was _miles_ ahead of Roto—but I was still afraid. Of what exactly, I won't say. I had my suspicions… I didn't want to admit to them just yet.

I eyed the battle edgily, eyes fixed ineradicably on it, and cringed every time Kurama had to dodge the lethal weapon.

Even Kuwabara noticed my tense preoccupation, shooting me a wary look. "Alright, Reina?" He asked quietly, frowning.

My fingers, clenched into nervous fists at my sides, ached. I uncurled them. "Fine," I managed, crossing my arms tightly over my chest, chewing the inside of my lip and trying to calm down. In my peripheral, I saw the masked member of Team Urameshi glance at me with his (or her) one visible eye.

The fight continued. Despite my attempts at getting a grip on my ridiculous nerves, I became more worried.

_He should've ended it by now... why is he still fighting...? Is he having a hard time or is he just letting Roto have it easy...?_

Then in one, simple step, it was over.

Or so I had hoped.

Kurama vanished in his speed, and appeared behind Roto, one hand raised to deliver the death sentence, face emotionless as he prepared to kill his opponent.

Then he hesitated.

Kurama jumped back as the sickle cut through the air, side facing us, seemingly unscathed.

A red line of blood trickled down his cheek.

"Why'd he slow down?" Kuwabara exclaimed. In the corner of my uneasy peripheral, I saw Botan look up, releasing Yusuke's jacket and peeking over the edge of the ring.

The entire stadium, sensing, like me, that something was amiss, was utterly silent.

Roto's mouth opened, speaking words that I couldn't hear. He grinned a fanged smile, the sickle dissolving back into his arm, waggling something clutched in his clawed hand at Kurama, taunting him.

Face stony, impassive, Kurama backed out of his defensive stance, and let his hands rest idly at his sides.

"Something's not right..." I murmured, shoving my hands into my pockets, fingernails digging into my palms. Kuwabara nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything.

"Hn," Hiei grunted.

Roto took one step forward, drew back a fist, and punched Kurama across the mouth. Kurama's head jerked to one side, then he slowly turned it to stare expressionlessly at his opponent.

I swallowed, palms aching.

Roto lifted his fist to punch Kurama again, but then his head jerked back and he glanced at something on the ground, confusion contorting his weasel-like features.

I heard him laugh, and bits of his voice as he spoke to Kurama. Nothing distinguishable, I noted with uneasy annoyance, leaning forward subconsciously to hear.

Kurama stood calmly, relaxed… then he crossed his arms behind his back.

"What is he _doing_?" Kuwabara protested, looking down at me for an answer, then Hiei. "He's leaving himself _wide_ open...!"

"There's a new complication," Hiei growled cryptically, glaring at Roto as he stepped slowly, tauntingly, towards Kurama. There was a wide, feral smile on his face, and he lifted a fist... I looked away.

"Eh?" Kuwabara said, gaping down at the three-eyed midget.

Hiei continued to glare at Roto. I heard a blow. No scream, no nothing. Just impassive, calm silence.

"The scum is controlling Kurama by threatening his human mother," Hiei explained. "He has a trigger... and if he pushes it, his familiars will devour her."

Kuwabara made a small noise of horrified protest.

"That... stupid little _bastard_," I snarled under my breath, following Hiei's heated look with a glare of equal venom. Roto was still pummeling a quiet, complacent Kurama. I winced, eyes sending daggers through Roto's skull. "That's foul play...!"

"This is the _Dark _Tournament, fool," Hiei retorted.

Kuwabara grumbled a string of curses.

"Wait." I glanced over at Hiei, automatically bracing myself for the fire that wouldn't come, "How do we know that Roto's not bluffing? Because I know Kurama..." I glanced back up at Kurama, and hurriedly looked away, gritting my teeth with renewed anxiety. "He won't gamble with his mother's life—even if Roto _could_ be lying..."

Neither Hiei nor Kuwabara answered.

I frowned impatiently. "Hiei, that was your cue."

He looked away from the fight to glower at me. "Explain yourself."

I tapped my forehead. "The Jagan can see over great distances, right...?" I asked. Hiei's expression didn't change. I sighed. "So... check Roto's alibi. Search for the familiars with your Eye."

Hiei's expression didn't change. "What ridiculous delusion have you fallen prey to… to _possibly_ believe that I would do anything to help _you_…?" He asked, tone dripping with sarcasm.

"I know that you wouldn't do anything for me, Hiei…" I began, rolling my eyes at the impossibility. "but Kurama's your friend… and if he knows that Roto's bluffing…" I looked up in Kurama's direction, nails biting into my palm as Roto punched him, again and again. I looked back down at Hiei.

"Then he can finish this," I concluded simply, working to keep the anxious quaver out of my voice.

Hiei glared at me for a few moments.

"Hn."

And he reached up, pinched the bandage tied around his forehead between two fingers, and jerked it off.

The Jagan oozed open. Kuwabara and I grimaced in unison—the thing was truly _nasty._

Hiei's other two eyes closed. The Jagan glowed, and I was very glad that I was wearing the Barrier Stone around my neck. Beside me, Kuwabara recoiled from the aura, glaring at the Eye with obvious disgust.

Then Hiei's normal eyes snapped open.

I stared at him in silence, waiting for him to speak.

"Well…?" I prompted.

Hiei didn't look at me. "Roto is a fool… but an honest one. Kurama's human vulnerability _is_ in danger."

"Aw, _damn…_" Kuwabara snarled, whipping his head around to look over at the fight, eyes narrowed in a glare. "This won't end well…"

I forced myself to look up at the fight. Roto had ceased punching Kurama, and was now glowering at him, both hands clenched into a fist.

"Somehow… I doubt that, Kuwabara," I said slowly.

Kuwabara looked back down at me, mouth hanging open stupidly. "Whaddaya mean, Reina?"

I shook my head. In my peripheral, I saw Hiei shoot me an indifferent, but mildly interested look. "What I mean…" I began, working over _what _exactly I meant in my head, "is that… again, I know Kurama." I shook my head again, looking down at my hands, now clenched into a praying fist in front of me. "He's not the type who underestimates _anyone_… not even scum like Roto."

I looked up at Kuwabara, and nodded, sure of myself, of my revelation.

"He has a plan."

* * *

I was right.

At least, according to the announcer's high-pitched, excited voice.

"Well, after being knocked around by Roto, it looks like Kurama is _back_ in control!" Her voice was incredulous, but affirming.

It certainly looked that way. Kurama stood, in a casual, confident sort of way, back to us, while Roto stayed frozen in the center of the ring. His ferret like face was strained—so he must be trying to move. But he couldn't.

Kurama had told me something about this. A conversation appeared in the forefront of my mind, unbidden.

"_It's called a Death Seed," Kurama explained, holding up the (seemingly) innocent, tiny thing in his fingertips. I leaned my head forward to study it with wary interest. "If planted on someone, it grows at an explosive rate, immobilizing them. Of course…" He smiled a little ruefully, "I can always speed up the process with my spiritual energy… but it's not something I like to do. It is a brutal way to kill…"_

I knew he had a plan.

It would be brutal. Kurama had been sketchy on the details, but I was fairly certain that the victim's death would involve something like plants constricting his heart… clogging his lungs. Something painful like that.

Then Kurama turned and started walking towards us, the strangest expression on his face—one of mixed revulsion and satisfaction. It came off looking grimly victorious. He saw me staring at him, and met my gaze.

"_Wait…!"_ I heard Roto plead. His head turned from side to side, struggling—but the rest of his body was completely immoble. He gazed fearfully at Kurama's back, slitted eyes wide with terror.

"DON'T YOU BELIEVE IN MERCY…?" He wailed.

Kurama paused.

He looked away from me, over his shoulder. His face was expressionless now.

He was very near the edge of the ring. So I could hear his quiet, calm answer.

"No."

And Roto's body exploded in a tangle of greenery.

* * *

"I'm sorry you had to see that," Kurama offered, stepping off the ring and eyeing my expression warily. Blood ran down his cheek, dripping off his chin. He wiped it off with the back of his hand, waiting worriedly for my answer.

I shook my head, grimacing at the blood. "Don't be." I offered him a grim, forced smile. "I would've done the same if I could've. He deserved nothing less than what he got," I replied, raking the bangs out of my face angrily and shooting a glare at the patch of flowers that was Roto's corpse (which was being hauled off of the ring by his teammates).

Kurama looked surprised at my tiny rant, lifting a questioning eyebrow.

"Hiei told us what was going on," I explained with a small smile.

"As expected," Hiei's indifferent voice said from somewhere around my elbow, "the familiars took off once their master expired."

"—Which means that Shiori's fine," I added with a smile.

The worried look vanished from Kurama's face. He shot us a half-smirk, trying not to stretch the wound on his cheek too much, and slipped into the loose line that Team Urameshi formed at the edge of the ring, next to me.

The announcer lifted a hand in the air, mike at her mouth.

"No rest for the weary, I suppose," Kurama said under his breath, glancing down at me.

"I guess not."

The stadium quieted, and the announcer opened her mouth.

"Next up…!"

* * *

At the announcer's call, Hiei jumped up onto the ring without a word to us, only sending a glare in my direction.

"Hiei versus Zeru…!" The announcer said dramatically, looking between the two opponents, pointed ears twitching, "Begin!"

And a wall of flame rushed at us, the searing heat blinding me.

"Holy…!" I yelled, diving to the ground. Kurama snatched me out of harm's way right as a tongue of flame scorched the spot where I had been standing a second before. I heard the demons in the stand screaming as they scurried for cover.

I stumbled to my feet, whipping around to see where Keiko and Shizuru were, the wind from the fire's passing whipping my hair out of its sloppy bun, slapping it across my face. I spotted them, making their way away from the raging inferno. Unharmed.

"Watch it," Kurama warned, taking my shoulder and stomping on a patch of grass next to me, extinguishing the flames with his foot.

"Are you all alright?" Botan called, from where she was kneeling at Yusuke's side, face red and sweaty, using her jacket to beat out the flames crackling at the unconscious boy's feet.

"Yeah!" I called back, ducking as another pillar of flame shot out at us, shielding my face with my hands. Arms up to protect my face, in a defensive, wary crouch, I scuttled over to Botan and peeled off my jacket, and whipped it at the fire.

Yusuke yawned, unaware of the fact that he would've been a crispy critter if Botan hadn't been there to save his lazy ass.

"_Why_ is he asleep, Botan?" I puffed, shaking my charred jacket to release some of the embers clinging to it.

She glanced down at him worriedly. "We think he's just recuperating from his training..." Botan said slowly, wiping the sweat off her face. "But… I don't really know…"

I kneeled in the burnt grass, and stared at Yusuke's sleeping face.

"Hey, you," I said, reaching out and poking Yusuke's shoulder. "Wake up."

Yusuke snored.

I frowned and reached out, deftly flicking him in between his eyes. He moaned in his sleep, brow puckering, and waved lethargically at me, muttering, "Leave me the hell alone… stupid old hag…" He turned over, and mumbled:

"March of the goddamn Penguins…"

"He's even vulgar when he's asleep… and speaking nonsense," I observed with an indignant glare, resisting the urge to flick him again.

Another flame arced over our heads, making Botan and I cringe.

I could hear the announcer commentating on the fight, sounding nervous but doggedly keeping the enthusiasm intact. "Zeru's glowing…! Like an _ember_! This can't be good for Hiei…!"

"Heh," I said, smirking. Botan shot me an appalled look. I ignored it and stood, walking over to stand next to Kuwabara, Kurama, and the masked fighter, eyeing the ring warily for any stray tongues of flame.

I turned to look at the fight, just in time to see the end of the fight.

Hiei stood facing Zeru, cocky and defiant as per usual. He seemed unscathed—singed slightly, but that was all the punishment he had taken from Zeru's fiery attacks.

Then, suddenly, he was flying.

And in flames.

* * *

"What the _hell_ just happened?" Kuwabara bellowed at the top of his lungs, voice even overcoming the scattered yells from what was left of the incinerated demonic fandom.

I gaped up at the flying, unmoving, flame-engulfed figure, shock freezing my system despite my intense dislike of Hiei.

"He's… gone…" I managed finally.

Then, as if cremating Hiei slowly and painfully wasn't enough, Zeru drew back a fist, as if to punch the air…

…And sent a ball of flame up into Hiei's face.

Even I heard the faint yell of agony as this last, and most likely fatal, attack connected with what remained of Hiei.

"That was so fast…" I whimpered, cringing as Hiei's body began its descent to the ground. I felt Botan grab my shoulder, and I didn't need to look at her to see the horrified look of defeat on her face. We all knew it was over.

_WHAM._

Hiei smoldered in the center of the ring.

The announcer, a safe distance away from the pyromaniac that was Zeru, stammered into her microphone, "Um… didn't know that Zeru could be so… um… violent…" Then, in an attempt to regain her cheery, demonic composure, she yelled, "I _love_ it…!"

And, to our stunned gazes, Hiei stood.

The announcer turned, gaping. "Oh _wow…!_" She exclaimed, in real amazement now. "Hiei's back up and on _fire…!"_

It was true. Hiei was still smoldering, but, impossibly, he stood as straight as ever. He lifted his right arm. I could hear him speak, but wasn't sure of what he was saying.

"Kurama…" I said, tugging questioningly on his sleeve. "What's…?"

Then, in the blink of an eye, he had sidestepped me and was standing in front of Botan and I, an arm held out protectively.

"Stand back… I can't believe…" he shook his head, voice slightly awed but mostly incredulous, "that he would do this…"

"Do _what?_" I asked, stepping to his side, peering up at him, hand resting on his elbow.

_BOOM._

A howling wind tore at us, screaming over and through the stadium. I cried out and crouched to the ground, keeping a hold on Botan's arm, genuinely fearing that she would be whisked away in the torrent of wind.

"_That!_" Kurama yelled over the wind, crouching down next to us, arms draped protectively over our shoulders.

"EXPLAIN…!" I yelled hysterically, eyes stinging as the wind blew grit into them, shooting Kurama a desperate look.

"It's a dark technique—one forbidden in the Human World!" Kurama answered quickly, ducking as something blew over our heads—moving too fast for me to distinguish what it was. "The Dragon of Darkness Flame…!"

"What does that mean?" Botan called, panicked, raising her head to look over Kurama's arm, at him.

"Nothing good—stay close to me!" Kurama promised grimly, voice sounding hoarse from yelling over the gale.

"THE HELL IS GOIN' ON…?" I heard Kuwabara yell at the top of his lungs. From under Kurama's arm, I could see his feet lumbering around us. I reached out and grabbed his ankle in both hands, fingers not even touching, and yanked him down to our level.

"THE HELL ARE YOU _DOIN',_ REINA…!" He howled, recovering from the fall and senselessly kicking out at me.

"You DON'T want to be where that attack can hit you!" I explained, voice cracking from the strain I was putting on it, not letting go of his ankle. "Stay _DOWN…!"_

And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it was over.

Kurama stood up immediately, and I cautiously pushed myself up into a sitting position, glancing about me to assess the damage. Botan and Kuwabara seemed alright, and, upon inspection of the ring, I saw that Hiei was still standing.

"But… where's Zeru…?" The announcer asked confusedly, meek voice echoing throughout the silent stadium.

I stood, pulling Botan to her feet.

"Ah!" The announcer exclaimed, jumping, back to us. "Um… there he is…?"

What she was staring at was a dark smudge on the wall. A smear of demon-shaped ash.

"That's all that's left…" I murmured, staring bug-eyed at the Zeru's sizzling remains.

Hiei turned and walked towards us, expression grimly pleased, right arm held away from his body at an awkward angle. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was blackened—scorched.

I tore my eyes from it to glance up at Kurama, a message in my uplifted eyebrows. He shared the same expression, and probably the same thoughts…

_What had happened to Hiei…?_

Not that I cared too much. But it was an enigma… and mysteries bothered me. Especially ones that I didn't know the answers to.

But I didn't say anything when Hiei nimbly jumped off the ring. He landed next to us wordlessly, slinging his cloak back over his shoulders from where he had dropped it on the ground.

Kuwabara looked at Hiei edgily, nervously, and Hiei, feeling his gaze, glanced up.

"When I choose a side, I stay on it," Hiei assured Kuwabara, voice unconcerned. "Besides, that technique needs work."

Hiei must've read Kuwabara's thoughts. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he had been thinking—especially since I was thinking it myself, as Hiei turned away from us to look out over the ring, and I studied his back.

If that technique so dangerous that it was forbidden in Ningenkai… if Hiei turned against us, we were screwed. Just like Zeru. Dead.

In my eyes, Hiei gained one tiny point of healthy respect.


	18. Animal Magnetism

**All I can say is...**

**JIN. JIN! :D I love writing Jin... XD**

**This chapter is also _colossal_. Not even kidding. It's probably the biggest one so far… over 9,000 words.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"_With magnetism, power of uncondensed steam, gravitation, radiant energy of electric waves, equilibrium and activity of atoms, all inscrutable to human eyes, man still cries, 'I believe only what I can see!'"_

_-Anonymous_

Animal Magnetism

* * *

We were allowed all of 2.54 seconds before the announcer yowled out (in an increasingly annoying voice) who was going to fight in the next match.

"NEXT UP… CHU!"

The stadium exploded in a chaotic roar of appreciation, and I winced, covering my ears and shooting a glare at all of the obsessive demon audience. Absolutely ridiculous…

"Versus…!" The fox demon glanced over at our side of the arena, a tapered eyebrow lifting in a silent query. "Um..."

"SHEILA!" The fighter, Chu, slurred in a roar. He didn't even need a microphone- we could easily hear his heavy Australian accent as if it had been broadcasted over the speakers. The announcer cringed away from him.

"Com'ere...!" Chu gestured to the announcer, then toppled over onto his backside, sitting in the center arena, swaying on the spot.

"Is this a joke...? He's drunk..." I muttered to Kurama, watching Chu and the fox- like referee. She bent down towards Chu to hear what he was drawling up at her. From where I was standing, I could still see the look of obvious disgust on the announcer's face. Her fingers were pinched over her nose.

"I believe... from what he's telling the announcer..." Kurama answered, brow furrowed, eyes intent on the pair as they said words that my human ears couldn't hear, "he's their alternate..."

"Why do they need an alternate?" I asked, glancing away from the pair on the arena and giving Kurama a dubious look. "They have a full team."

Kurama frowned. "Actually..." He nodded at something to my right. I turned to look.

There was a lump in the grass, and, as I looked closer, I could see that it was actually two lumps.

Unmoving corpses.

"Oh." I blinked. "I stand corrected, then..."

"GIT ME A FIGHTER...!"

"Okay, okay!" The announcer squeaked, flinching away from Chu's loud voice, and darted over to our side of the arena. She bent down to look Kuwabara full in the face. "Your combatant, Team Urameshi...?"

"Uh..." Kuwabara said stupidly. He turned to look at us, scratching the back of his neck. "Mebbe we should draw straws or somethin'...?"

"If you don't have a combatant, I'll have to disqualify you," The announcer informed us, lifting the microphone to her lips, the sober verdict booming over the speakers. In answer, the majority of the demonic audience started jeering.

"Hold on!" Kuwabara yelped, and shot us each a pleading look. His eyes fixed on something behind me. "Hey, you! Shorty!" Kuwabara pointed at the masked fighter with a demanding finger. "You haven't fought yet! Go!"

The masked fighter blinked, but otherwise made a show of not moving.

Snarling in agitation, Kuwabara furiously brushed past me and scanned the length of the wall searchingly. "If Urameshi would wake his sorry ass up...!"

Then he froze.

"Uh..." Kuwabara turned to me, mouth hanging open stupidly. "Where's Urameshi...?"

Before I could answer, a black-haired, coat-clad blur darted past me.

We all looked up to see Yusuke, back towards us, standing straight and haughty on the arena, laughing:

"Waking up to the smell of alcohol," Yusuke said, stuffing a finger in his ear and twisting. He pulled it out, then flicked whatever he had dug out of his ear to the arena floor. I grimaced. "Reminds me of home..."

"Alcohol?" I asked incredulously, sniffing the air. I frowned up at Kurama. "I don't smell anything."

"You're not a demon... or Yusuke, for that matter," Kurama said with a ghost of a smirk. "And be grateful..." Kurama frowned slightly, wrinkling his nose. "... The stench is repugnant."

Before I could reply, Yusuke started shouting.

"Hey, you _STUPID_ DEMONS!" Yusuke bellowed at the top of his lungs, lifting an arm to point at the audience. "I've been tryin' to sleep with all your _clever_ trash talk long enough! But now I'm up and ready to _kick some ASS...!"_

"Charming," I observed with a derisive snort.

"Yusuke!" Botan exclaimed suddenly, brushing past me and peering worriedly up at the boy, indigo brow puckering. "Are you _sure_ you're ready to fight...? You've been sleeping for almost an entire day..."

"Aw, give it a rest, Botan," Yusuke snorted, swinging his arms back and forth over his chest, loosening up. "That's why I've got this stink-o. I always get some light exercise in the morning..." Yusuke yawned widely and obnoxiously to prove his point, and, with a wave, jogged to the center of the ring.

"Hardly light, I think," Kurama murmured under his breath.

I looked up. "What do you mean by that...?"

Kurama frowned, eyes narrowing a tiny bit. "Chu's aura... it's... odd." Kurama said simply, shifting uneasily as his brow furrowed, trying to figure out what he was trying to say. "Latent... but far from harmless, I think." Kurama glanced over at me. "Suppressed, somehow," he hinted, lifting an eyebrow. "Which brings us back to your aura..."

"—Which is something that you don't need to be worrying about right now," I answered logically, turning my head to break the hold his gaze had on mine, looking over at Chu and Yusuke. "I'll tell you later... but for now let's focus on the fight, okay?"

In my peripheral, I saw Kurama blink with slight surprise at my consoling tone, then he nodded and followed my gaze, onto the arena.

"Later, then," he said simply.

"LET THE FIGHT… BEGIN…!" The announcer (Koto, I think she was called) yelled into her mic.

Kurama let out a low gasp. I glanced up at him.

"His aura… it's unlike anything I've ever encountered…!" Kurama said in a low voice, explaining, eyes trained on the pair in the ring. I followed his gaze to Chu, frowning. I resisted the urge to cast off the Barrier Stone and feel it for myself—if there was an aura out there strong enough to make _Kurama_ wary, then it would probably kill me.

Chu was gone.

I peered closer, searchingly. _No, not gone…_ I noted with astonishment, watching the mohawked fighter glide around the ring, a blur from a speed not unlike Hiei's, _Just fast. _Really_ fast._

Kuwabara voiced what I had noticed, flabbergasted. "He's _fast_...!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"Good luck trying to hit him." I heard Hiei mutter in undertone. When I glanced down at him, there was a tiny smirk on his face. I grimaced and looked back to the fight, disgusted.

"Wow, people," Koto said into her microphone, head cocked, pointed cat ears twitching as she tried to make out what was going on in the fight- but to no avail, "I guess Chu _does_ have talent after all…"

It was difficult to tell… if it was just one Chu, or twenty. He didn't have just one afterimage, it seemed like there was an army of Australian booze- hounds circling the astounded Yusuke. Yusuke tried turning on the spot- a vain attempt to sort out where Chu really was, but judging from the frustrated look on the delinquent's face, it wasn't working.

"There!" I shouted, pointing.

Chu's afterimages solidified into one, coming at Yusuke from the side, fist drawn back...

Yusuke went sailing through the air.

At my elbow, I heard Hiei let out a satisfied grunt. It sounded more like a chuckle than anything.

I was sick of it. I rounded on the midget demon, eyes sparking in indignation, voice raised in incredulity.

"How can you _laugh_ at that?" I demanded, glaring down at Hiei. "He's on your _team_! If he loses, you lose!"

"Hn," Hiei grunted derisively, shooting me a disparaging look. "The opponent's skill is impressive…" His ruby eyes glinted. "I admire talent."

"You have some serious issues, Hiei," I shot back, crossing my arms over my chest and looking back at the arena, laden with yet another reason to dislike the three-eyed demon.

Yusuke had already fallen to the ground, and was now struggling to get back on his feet.

"Uh…" the announcer said, looking at Yusuke, then Chu, ears twitching. "Um… can we see that in slow motion… 'cause I didn't catch _any_ of that…"

On the digital scoreboard, an image of Chu and Yusuke obligingly appeared. Yusuke's movements were exaggerated, slow, but Chu seemed to be moving at normal speed. I saw him come at Yusuke from the side again, fist drawn back. In quick succession, Chu swiftly dealt Yusuke's stomach five rapid blows, and, as Yusuke flew through the air from the impact, Chu jumped after him and slammed his elbow into the back of Yusuke's neck, slamming the boy into the ground.

I gaped. I could've _sworn_ that Chu had hit Yusuke only once, and then just let gravity take over from there. Not _five times_ and then hit him _again…_

The image vanished.

"Oh…" Koto said after a beat, in a staggered voice. Then, as she always had, she turned to the audience and squealed, "I _love _it…!"

"That's…" I murmured, "insane…"

I didn't bother to look at Hiei. He was probably grinning from ear to ear now, the little, fair-weather traitor…

Chu approached Yusuke, head cocked to one side, a smirk on his face.

Instantly, almost as quickly as Chu, Yusuke was on his feet—still, apparently, alive and kicking, judging by the blur of his fists that were thrown at Chu's face.

Yusuke attacked Chu all the way across the ring, Chu disappearing and reappearing over and over again, coming at Yusuke from all angles. But, always in the same second that Chu himself tried to attack Yusuke, Yusuke would lift an arm to block him, or duck out of the way.

It continued for all of ten seconds, though, with my nerves already frayed from watching my friends (and Hiei) fight, it seemed like an eternity.

It seemed like a stalemate, but then Yusuke broke free from the untraceable brawl, sliding backwards. I saw him spit blood on the ground and drag the back of his hand over his mouth—apparently Chu had gotten a hit—and then leap forward to engage the Australian drunkard again.

The fight continued, neither of them backing down, neither of them outstripping the other. It was breathtaking and mind-scrambling to watch—there was no measure for the speed at which they moved, all of my little human comparisons could only be discarded in the light of such strength and agility.

And Yusuke was human, like me. Now _that_ was something to think about.

As I pondered this, suddenly, violently, Chu broke out of the fight and rocketed through the air, body limp, like a rag doll.

He slammed to the ground, and was still.

Yusuke rubbed his knuckles, rolling his shoulders in a shrug, shaking the effects of the battle off like it was a bothersome ache. Yusuke was utterly confident, that much I could tell from the wide, ecstatic grin on his face. He was one who obviously enjoyed the fight, and was good at it. I found myself grinning in response to Yusuke's self- assured attitude. It was contagious.

I smiled, and glanced down at Hiei.

"Impressive, no…?" I asked him sweetly.

Hiei glared.

I looked back up, just in time to see my words being shoved back down my throat.

Chu's limp form disappeared from the ground, reappearing half a second later behind Yusuke, upright and very much alive. Yusuke started, spinning around, arms lifting to block, but it was already too late.

Chu pivoted on his heel, spinning in one imperceptible movement, and his foot slammed into Yusuke's midriff.

Yusuke was propelled through the air, away from where the rest of the Urameshi Team was standing, into the barrier wall.

Where the wall crumpled in a cloud of dust, on top of Yusuke. When the dust settled, Yusuke was nowhere to be seen.

Hiei laughed once, coldly. I glanced down. His eyes were alight in demonic bloodlust, a creepy half smile turning a corner of his lips up into a smirk.

"Not very impressive at all."

I grimaced.

* * *

About thirty seconds later, the fight was once again in full swing.

Yusuke had freed himself from the rubble, and leaped back onto the arena on the seventh count. Apparently, from what Kurama had told me, Yusuke had blocked Chu's crippling blow with just one arm.

We had watched in horrified exasperation as Yusuke had shown his ace up front, blowing a crater in the stadium's high, domed half-ceiling with his spirit gun.

Chu had just taken a swig of what was deemed, by Koto, the announcer, to be "very potent booze."

Why? Well, Koto had already deciphered Chu's slurred explanation, and told the audience as a whole.

Apparently, the more Chu drank, the stronger he would get. And he had just downed several shots of alcohol (straight off the demon plane, nothing good) in a single gulp.

The stadium was eerily quiet; even the apparitions harmed from the debris of Yusuke's warning shot ceased to complain and moan, falling into a silence that took over the entire audience, the fighters, even the loquacious Koto.

The sky was a sinister burgundy, casting a ruby-red glow over the arena, the field, beyond. When I spared the sky a glance, it was a disturbing swirl of black and red that sent chills down my spine. Botan clutched my arm like it was a lifeline.

"Chu's aura has eclipsed the entire stadium…" Koto observed, her hushed voice echoing deafeningly in the silence.

I gently pried Botan's fingers off of my arm.

"This aura's just gettin' creepier and creepier…" Kuwabara said edgily, looking about him with a strained expression on his face. I nodded in sympathetic agreement—and made a mental note to thank Botan for giving me the Barrier Stone. Chu's aura certainly _looked_ ominous…

"Something's happening…!" Koto announced, voice high-pitched from the tension of the moment, the potency of her excitement.

Chu bent double, hands clenched into fists, face stony, frozen from the effort of what he was attempting to do…

Then he turned, ran to the edge of the arena, and proceeded to vomit into the grass.

Botan and I exchanged glances.

"Um… ew?" I said, wrinkling my nose in distaste. "Really, it's kind of hard to take Chu seriously… when he's having a hangover…"

"No…" Kurama corrected grimly, as Chu straightened back up, "he's sober… Alcohol has no effect on him. At least not normally..." His eyes narrowed.

"Care to elaborate…?"

"What I mean to say is…" Kurama gave me a bleak look, "it serves Chu as a catalyst… for his spiritual energy."

"Hn," Hiei grunted. Now, instead of looking impressed, his eyes looked exactly like Kurama's—narrowed and suspicious. As I compared the two, I realized that the look wasn't the cause of a conscious motivation… the two demons reacted the same way that an animal would if confronted by a stronger enemy of their kind. Wary and watchful.

"Chu proves _resilient_ after his hacking spell," Koto commentated, following Chu as he advanced on Yusuke, looking between the two with an interested expression on her face. She, of course, was also a demon, so she kept a safe distance from Chu, reacting just the same as Hiei and Kurama had.

Then Chu took his stance.

He held his hands at his side, curved, palms facing each other. His aura was actually visible now… swirling around him in a disturbingly entrancing vortex… condensing in an orb of energy between his hands.

Koto was in her element.

"Now we're _definitely_ up for some action! Chu is revealing an _entirely_ new attack…!" Koto danced back a step, shielding her eyes. "I can't tell exactly what it is, but heads will _definitely _be rolling…!"

"She sounds so happy," I said in undertone to no one in particular, glaring at the demonic announcer. "It's sickening…"

"Whoa!" Kuwabara yelled, also shielding his eyes, to get a better look. The globular manifestation of Chu's aura was a bright orange—its light radiated throughout the stadium. "It's like Urameshi's spirit gun…!"

"And has about the same power…" Kurama intoned guardedly, subconsciously turning his side towards the arena, as if preparing for an attack. His fists were clenched at his sides.

"What?" Botan yelped, shooting Kurama a desperate look. "Isn't that something we need to tell Yusuke…?"

At that moment, Chu began running, perpendicular to us, legs a blur. A split second after that, Yusuke followed, parallel to the drunkard, holding one arm out in his trademark Spirit Gun pose, matching Chu in speed, though the Australian was twice his size.

Then Chu slid to a stop, drawing back his hand in a nearly imperceptible movement, the orb of his energy clutched tightly in his fist…

And hurled it at Yusuke.

* * *

"A knife-edge death match?" I asked in response to what Kurama had just told me, wary of the implications.

"From what they're saying…" Kurama replied, looking a little more at ease (as in, not demonically chary) now that both Yusuke's and Chu's spirit energies were kaput, "They will fight bare-handed until one or the other gives out from the pain.

"The knives," Kurama nodded at the two long-handled blades, shoved deep into the stone arena's floor, where Chu had thrust them only moments ago, "are a boundary line. If one of them falls… it means sudden death."

It had only taken seconds for Yusuke and Chu to release all of their spiritual energy. The first energy blast that Chu had sent hurtling in Yusuke's direction had been stalemated by a detonation from Yusuke's spirit gun. They had been of equal power. After the spirit attacks had failed, the opponents had run in behind their shots and engaged themselves in an all-out fist brawl. Then, Chu had tried the same tactic again.

After Chu had thrown his energy at Yusuke for a second time, Yusuke had countered the attack with two successive blasts of his spirit gun. Both Chu's energy blast and Yusuke's had made solid hits, but they used up everything they had in their last attacks.

…Or so Kurama had informed me, after I had asked him what the heck was going on. My human eyes were too weak to see what had actually happened, _when_ it had happened. It had been over in seconds.

So now Yusuke and Chu stood, facing each other with identical grins of satisfaction on their faces.

Combat junkies… living in the moment, surviving for the fight. They seemed to _enjoy_ beating each other to a pulp.

"That's awful…" Keiko said, overhearing what Kurama had told me, hands covering her mouth. She had come down to the field only a few minutes ago. Her eyes were straining… staring wide-eyed at the combatant's feet, which were bare and pressed against the tapered edges of the knives.

Hence the "Knife-Edge Death Match."

I understood Keiko's horror. I felt the same way too, but knew that this was necessary.

"They're locked in an impasse," I told Keiko. "Neither of them are backing down, and neither of them have their spirit energy." I wrestled a smile on my face, and looked kindly over at Keiko. "I don't like it either, but it's the only way to settle this…"

"But their feet…" Keiko whimpered, eyes wide. "They'll… be cut… wide open…"

In her eyes was a sentiment that was familiar. It was like looking into a mirror of the past... a dark past, perhaps, but a past nonetheless.

It was the unexplained terror I had felt when I had first met Kurama. It was the fear I had felt—but never admitted—when he had told me what he was.

In Keiko's eyes, I saw my emotions raging inside the—and it didn't make sense, really. Keiko was worried, of course—but I could tell that she cared for Yusuke, maybe loved him. It was odd to relate to her fear, when _my_ fears were associated with Kurama…

I shook the puzzlement off and trained my eyes back on the ring.

"It'll be alright, Keiko," I assured her.

"...Knife-Edge Death Match…!" Koto, the announcer, publicized, hand raised in the air, looking between Chu and Yusuke, pointed fox ears twitching in anticipation…

Her hand dropped.

"_Begin_!"

There was no way to tell who had thrown the first punch. Both of them seemed to flinch back instantly, recoiling from each other's blows. One thing I did know—judging from the looks of pain on each of their faces- that Yusuke and Chu were evenly matched. But that didn't stop them from fighting.

Even with their spirit energy gone, they were still in a draw.

And even from my viewpoint, I could see the exhilarated looks on their faces as their fists blurred, making changing patterns through the air. Scarlet also flew through the air, constantly spraying into the likeness of some macabre halo around the two opponents.

It was almost surreal… how they fought without hesitation, the heels of their feet being carved into ribbons by the knives, the other's fists bringing blood and sure agony—but neither Yusuke nor Chu flinched, or drew back. They threw themselves into the battle, not caring of the consequences, completely and utterly free.

I found my nerves rubbed raw, watching them. Somehow, I was captured by the violent grace of the fight—the rough yet precise style of fighting—and, for a moment, I wished that I was up there in Yusuke's stead.

_Whoa._ I shook my head to clear my thoughts, but kept my eyes trained on the two fighters. _This is… new. I've never felt like this before…_

It was purpose. And passion. And in all my months of being involved with the comings and goings of the supernatural... I had never encountered such things.

The fight continued.

As they exchanged blows, I could hear them laughing. Laughing like maniacs, laughing from the invigorating challenge that was the fight. They were excited to be equals, glad of the somber malediction—sudden death—if they fell out of bounds.

Chu broke free of the violent repetitiveness, leaning back…

Then he tilted his head forward, as Yusuke was still recovering from a blow that Chu had dealt him, struggling to regain his balance.

Chu snapped his head forward, leaning down towards Yusuke, throwing everything behind this final blow—

—And Yusuke matched him again.

I heard the sickening _crack_ as their skulls collided, even over the sharp intake of breath from Keiko, a gasp that I duplicated, hands flying to my throat.

It seemed to take forever—the two simply stood there, hands clenched into fists, teeth gritted from the pain of the blow. They glared at each other, foreheads connected, blood dripping and sliding down their faces, trickling off of their chins…

Chu's knees buckled, giving out, arms falling limply to his sides…

And he fell to the ground.

* * *

After the fight, the rest of our group met Team Urameshi down on the field.

Well, most of us. Keiko and Shizuru had silently taken off, perplexing the rest of us, but Botan and I shrugged it off and went to congratulate the team.

"You did it!" I exclaimed, beaming. "Nicely done, all of you!"

"Yeah, we did, didn't we?" Kuwabara replied excitedly, beaming in a self-possessed way, fists on hips and grinning down at me.

I smiled wryly. "Sure, Kuwabara…"

After the round of congratulations, we then began walking back over to the hotel we were supposedly staying in—Botan announcing cheerfully that we were all staying in pretty near proximity to each other, only a floor apart.

The boys were on the eighteenth floor, we were on the seventeenth. Koenma had set "my group" (as in Shizuru, Keiko, Botan, and myself) up with the room, and had already gotten our stuff taken up to our quarters, giving us each a keycard to open our overly lavish accommodations.

Hotel Kubikukuri was probably the most opulent building that I had ever been in. And I thought Meiou High's campus was huge.

There were twenty floors, the rich, Black Market sort living on the ground floor. When we walked into the hotel, Botan and I gaped.

…Well, to be honest, we were already gaping _before_ we even entered the building.

A staffer ushered us in, leading us to the elevators. I knew I must look like an amazed tourist, walking around with my mouth hanging open (I was catching amused looks from the more prominent guests in the hotel), but I could hardly care.

It was obvious that our motley crew stuck out like a sore thumb in this place. I was wearing ratty jeans, hems rolled several times but still worn from dragging along the floor as I walked—a direct consequence of my lack of height. I was wearing a baggy, green sweater, and my usual pair of converses were donning my feet. I had thrown away my light jacket—it had been seared by Zeru's fire from earlier. Anywhere else back home, I would fit right in.

Here… not so much.

I had never really given too much thought to my appearance, but as our group attracted amused, denigrating looks, I found myself flushing a little, chewing the inside of my lip nervously.

And the rest of us (sans Botan, who was wearing a kimono from Reikai) were bloodstained and battle-worn.

Hiei drew many odd looks; most of them fearful, because the bandage that he usually wore around his forehead to cover his Jagan had been lost in his fight. Anyone could see the ominous crease in his forehead, and probably have a good guess as to what was behind it.

As we waited for the elevator to hit the seventeenth floor, Kuwabara and Yusuke filled us in on what Botan and I had missed the night before, while we were still one day away from departing for Hanging Neck Island.

"Well, you showed them," I said simply, after the two (with the occasional input from Kurama) had told us about the visit from the members of Team Rokuyukai that they had been graced with the night before.

The elevator _dinged_, and the gold- plated doors swished soundlessly open. Botan and I stepped out, waving goodbye.

"Night, boys!" Botan said cheerily. She took my arm. "Reina and I've got to run… we're having a party in honor of Team Urameshi's win!"

"Wait, wait," Yusuke said, sticking a hand in front of the elevator door, preventing it from closing. He lifted an eyebrow. "We're invited, right…?"

"Nope!" Botan replied with a chipper shake of her head. "Girls only, Yusuke!"

"But…" He gave Botan and I a dirty look. "_We're_ Team Urameshi. It's in our freaking honor…!"

"Hey, don't look at me!" I protested, shrinking away from his glare. "This is the first I've heard of it… I'm sure you could come if you wanted to…"

"NO!" Botan clamped a hand over my mouth, and then started dragging me down the hallway, oblivious to my muffled complaints. "Girls. _Only._"

"Reina…" Kurama poked his head out the elevator door, calling after me, "you haven't told me why your aura's off…"

I clawed Botan's hand off my mouth; she gave it up for my wrist and lugged me further down the hallway as I paused indecisively, wondering if I should answer Kurama's inquiry.

"Tomorrow!" I promised finally, leaning around a corner as Botan attempted to haul me past it.

"Reina…"

"Do I _look_ like I have a choice?" I rolled my eyes, bracing a foot against the wall in an attempt to stay Botan for a little while longer. Tomorrow, Team Urameshi had a day to rest up, anyway. Plenty of time to alleviate Kurama's puzzling obsession over the state of my aura. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, _promise._"

Kurama seemed pleased with the sincerity in my tone. He nodded and smiled. "Alright. Goodnight, Reina, Botan."

"Night!" Botan puffed, straining to tow me further down the hallway. With a sigh, I wrenched her hand off of my wrist, and continued down the hallway, calling behind me:

"See you in the morning!"

* * *

As I walked, I remembered what Botan had put Shizuru, Keiko, and I through.

Firstly, she had lugged out a colossal case of makeup, lined us up on the couch, and attempted to give us makeovers. Keiko had been complacent, and it had nearly cost her an eye. Botan had slipped while applying eyeliner to Keiko's waterline, and had accidentally jabbed the poor girl in the eye with the (just sharpened) stick.

Needless to say, when Botan turned to me with an eyelash curler, I promptly evaded her. There was no way Botan was getting near my face with a pointy, metal object. In her hands, mascara was a weapon of mass destruction.

And after stuffing our faces with the ungodly array of junk food that Botan had managed to carry along with us, we had turned in for the night.

Rather, Shizuru and I had, while Botan had forced Keiko into a sure-to-be-deadly game of truth or dare.

There were two beds in the hotel room, so Botan and Keiko shared, and Shizuru and I shared. Both beds were large enough to probably accommodate three people—(in other words, one Kuwabara)- and the couch in the living room could comfortably accommodate all of us.

In short, the room was bigger than my house.

Right now, though, it was the morning after.

I was walking along inside the stadium, following the same path that Shizuru, Botan, Keiko, Koenma, and Koenma's ogre bodyguard (J-something) had taken when we had first arrived at the tournament. The way wasn't obviously marked, but I supposed if I kept following the sounds of the crowd yelling their lungs out, I would eventually reach the entrance.

I had woken up to Botan brandishing a curling iron in my face, having already curled my hair. How, I don't know. I supposed I was just a heavy sleeper.

So I had instantly grabbed on an excuse to evade Botan's girlish antics for a while, asking the girls if they knew where the boys were.

Botan had said that they had stopped by earlier, and Kurama had told her to tell me to meet him at the stadium, where he was surveying the competition. Glad for the pretext, I had thrown on the usual-jeans, sweater, gloves, and amulet- and headed out the door.

Now I paused in one of the tunnels, frowning at my surroundings. Ahead of me, a mouth of a rocky, roughly constructed tunnel gaped wide, dark, and ominous. I turned to backtrack my steps.

"Hey, girly… where you goin' in such a hurry?" A throaty voice called out to me.

I glanced over my shoulder, and saw a lizard-like demon separate from the shadows of the tunnel, reptilian eyes glinting, and start towards me. Behind him, several other demons edged out of the tunnel and fell into step beside him, shooting fanged grins in my direction.

I felt a pang of unease, turning to stride swiftly away, hand clenching around the Barrier Stone, just in case I had to dissuade these lesser demons.

"Don' be like that…" One of the demons hissed, much closer now. I glanced back again, lengthening my strides. "_Promise_ we won't hurt you…"

"Sure," I shot back disbelievingly, eyes shooting around my surroundings, looking for an escape. If I yelled for help, the only things that would hear me would be more demons, and attracting more of them was the _last_ thing I wanted to do.

"Hey!" A cold, scaly, clawed hand shot out and captured my wrist, jerking me around. The lizard demon and his fellows loomed over me, grinning menacingly. "Who said you could run off like that, _human_…?"

"OI! _SKEDADDLE…_!" A sharply accented voice roared.

Suddenly, a howling gale whistled into the hallway, scattering the now-yelling demons as easily as if they were made of paper. I had sense enough to crouch to the ground; arms curled over my head, and shut my eyes against the stinging grime.

The impossible wind whipped violently around me, and, with horror, I found my feet parting company with the ground. I clawed desperately at the concrete floor, searching for a handhold and finding none.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, it was over.

After pausing for a moment on the ground, hands clamped over my eyes in an unnecessary effort to protect them from the airborne filth, I rose shakily to my feet, hands dropping to my sides.

The group of demons were in an undignified, writhing heap on the floor, but easily broke free of each others' many limbs and scrambled to their feet. One of them bared their fangs and hissed at the barrier between myself and him.

The said protection was a lanky, tall, red-headed figure who stood confidently between the tassel of demons and me. As I studied him, I saw a horn poking out of the mane of red hair that fell down his back, just past his shoulder blades.

Tall, red-headed _demon_, I mentally corrected myself, and tensed, braced for the worst. If he had the power to scatter a mob of demons, I could only guess at what he could do to me.

"Ya heard me! Get on outta 'ere!" The demon bellowed, waving his arms. The other demons hissed slightly, flinching warily, then sullenly slunk away.

The demon then turned, grinning, and I took an involuntary step backwards.

His eyes were bright and ice-blue, grin fanged but not menacing. Long, pointed ears protruded from the thick chaos of red hair on his head, twitching in my direction. He was dressed in white—white pants, black sandals—with only crisscrossing gathers of white cloth interlaced across his developed chest in a weak imitation of decency.

I took another step back, cautiously.

"Hey!" Suddenly, the demon was inches away, my hand caught up in his and being shaken with animated eagerness. "Mename'sJinwot'syours...?"

I blinked, staring up at his grinning face. "Er... come again?" I asked weakly, arm going numb. I was still shaken from the sudden friendliness, and the demon attack besides, but _this_ demon seemed much more trustworthy. At least he hadn't tried to disembowel me yet.

I felt a tiny surge of guilt—I was stereotyping demons… maybe thisone had just wanted to help.

"Jin's me name, Jin the Wind Master," The demon, Jin, repeated in a fractionally slower tone. "Wot's yours...?"

"Oh," I said, cracking a small smile. "Reina. Shueisha Reina. Nice to meet you..."

Jin finally released my gloved hand, grin becoming (impossibly) wider, and laced his fingers behind his head, rocking back on his heels. He shot me a questioning look. "So wot's a pretty girl like you doin' at th' Dark Tournament...?" He questioned in a heavily accented voice. It was Irish, I was pretty sure.

Embarrassed, I wrinkled my nose at the compliment, but answered regardless, "My friends are competing in the tournament," I replied, and shrugged. "I'm here for moral support."

"Wot team?"

"Urameshi." I eyed Jin carefully. "Are you competing in the tournament...?"

In answer, Jin laughed. "'Course I am! Our teams 're made to duke it out later in the tournament!"

At my nervous giggle, Jin gave me a sincerely friendly look, one meant to disarm.

"Ah mainly figh' for the fun of it," Jin claimed, blue eyes blinking innocently. "So no hard feelin's when our teams scrap, alri', Reina?"

"Of course not." I found myself grinning with genuine amity—the Irish demon was a charismatic sort. It was hard not to be at ease, despite the fact that I had only known this strange demon for all of a minute.

"So," I began, waving around us, at the length of the hallway, "what're you doing down here?"

Jin grinned. "There's miles of tunnel undernea' th' island," Jin answered, shrugging nonchalantly. "I've bin bored, so I've bin explorin' them. Lucky fer you..." Jin gave me a superior look, "I was topside when ya got attacked."

"Very lucky," I agreed, glancing off to the side. In my peripheral, I saw Jin puff out his chest with pride, and I smothered a snort of amusement. Demonic or no, boys were all the same. Completely and utterly full of themselves.

After a few seconds of silence, I glanced over at Jin, smiled, and waved. "Well... I'll see you around," I said in parting, turning away from the demon with a smile. "Nice meeting you, Jin."

"Wait!"

I paused, and looked back at Jin, lifting an eyebrow.

Jin cocked his head, shrugging. "Where do'ya need t' go? 'Cause I can take ya, I've got nothing t' do."

I smiled after a beat, bemused. "The arena… I'm meeting a friend."

And on that agreement, we set out to find Kurama. Jin kept up a steady stream of nearly unintelligible chatter along the way, while I nodded and laughed occasionally at his many exploits.

"I'm not _that _helpless," I retorted with a fake glare, when he had hinted at my lack of usefulness. "I have a power… see?" And I pulled off my glove, and slipped the Barrier Stone over my head.

Coming to a stop, I shot Jin a superior look and flexed my fingers, brow furrowed in concentration and grimacing slightly from the pull of Jin's aura.

A tiny, sparking orb materialized in the palm of my hand, threadlike bolts of electricity shooting out the sides of it, into the air. Jin laughed and pointed, ice-blue eyes alight with interest.

"It's a wee little bugger!" He exclaimed in exaggerated Irish tones, grinning at me. "Wot'cha use it for…?"

I studied the small, blue-white orb flickering in my palm, smiling slightly. I looked back up at Jin.

"My power..." I said slowly, "incinerates demons. And _only_ demons. That's why I wear this amulet..." I twirled the Barrier Stone around my finger by its chain, "because, otherwise... it's uncontrollable."

Jin laughed a little nervously, and held up his hands, as if warding off a blow. He took a cautious step back. "Don't be chuckin' tha' thing a' me, alrigh', Reina...?" He asked in a slightly joking tone, but eyed the orb warily.

I laughed, closing my hand into a fist. With a faint, forlorn-sounding sizzle, the orb died.

"Another reason why I wear the amulet," I added, slipping the chain back over my head, and pulling my glove back on for added protection. I shot Jin an amused look. "I have demonic friends."

"Like me?" Jin asked hopefully, shooting me his best pouty, puppy-dog look.

I grinned at his expression. "Sure."

"Tha's great!" Jin said excitedly, beaming. He started walking again, lacing his hands behind his head. I followed.

"Ya know, you're the only human who hasn't said anything 'bout this lil'... growth..." Jin said, and tapped the tiny, spiraled horn twisting out of his forehead, smiling sheepishly.

"Well, now that you mention it..." I kidded slyly, peeking at Jin out the corner of my eyes, smirking.

"Aw!" Jin complained, coming to a halt, holding out his hands in an appealing gesture. "An' here was me, thinkin' that yeh were a decent 'uman being..."

And Jin continued to tell me stories at the speed of light, very happily—he was obviously just glad to have someone to talk to. Jin seemed the type to need friends like air.

Now, I would've sluggishly tried translating his words, in order to come up with the proper answers, but Jin's words fell silently on my numbed ears, his exaggerated gestures and expressions sailing over my head with me none the wiser.

It was difficult to concentrate on the drawl of my new, chipper, demonic acquaintance... when I was otherwise absorbed in something else.

My eyes were incoercible, fixed on a figure dead ahead of Jin and I with no hint of moving anywhere anytime soon. My blood ran cold, and I automatically lifted a hand to my throat, feeling for the amulet. Yes, it was there...

If this was what I thought it was, (which was most likely), and if I wasn't wearing the pendant, my blood would be boiling. Not freezing over in unexplained dread.

Violet eyes, sinister eyes, calculating eyes held mine as the figure glided forward, silken strands of raven hair floating around his face, sometimes obscuring it, sometimes framing it.

I was dimly aware of Jin's carefree chatter ceasing to exist, but couldn't escape the fact that this person, this demon, was coming closer and my blood was ice and I couldn't move...

And the demon—thin and menacingly graceful, towering over both Jin and I at a disturbing height—came to a stop not five feet from us, and eyed me keenly.

I let out a breath, unaware that I had been holding it, and cringed back a step.

And the demon spoke—voice velvet with faux friendliness, lips obscured by a gray, metal mask covering half of his face, eyes scanning my face with rapt and chilling attention.

"I am Karasu," the demon said silkily, unblinking gaze holding mine. "And you... must be Reina...?" His tone of voice made his words a question, and as I shifted uneasily. The corners of Karasu's eyes crinkled—as if he were smiling under the mask, amused at my discomfort.

I found my voice, and made it cold.

"Yes," I replied, masking my nervousness with a cool glare, tensing to snatch the Barrier Stone from my throat and send a burst of creepy demon-incinerating energy Karasu's way if need be. Beside me, Jin looked between Karasu and I, uncharacteristic worry furrowing his scarlet brow.

"And you are... most likely... wondering how I know you." Karasu intoned, voice light but somehow more ominous.

Though the Barrier Stone was secured around my throat, I could just _tell_ that this demon had an aura meant to intimidate. I couldn't sense it with my defense, but I didn't need my power to tell. Humans like me usually shied away from the supernatural, and I knew that this demon, Karasu, was probably the deadliest thing I had ever encountered.

_Well, aside from Kurama,_ I amended to myself, holding the glare with some difficulty, _But Kurama would never hurt me... so it doesn't count._

In answer to Karasu's question, I offered him a quick, curt nod.

Karasu's deep purple eyes crinkled again, and his head tilted slightly as he regarded my standoffish front.

"In truth, I am here... on request," Karasu said, eyes glinting with some hidden, eerie sentiment, "I recognized you from the description of your power..."

My eyes narrowed.

Karasu blinked over his jagged collar, down at me, with a bemused expression in his eyes. "Quite extraordinary, really... a human, designed to destroy only demons..." The crinkles deepened. "Hardly endearing, I think."

"Well," I replied, shrugging, "I'm here to please, didn't you know?" I asked sarcastically.

Karasu blinked at my bluntness, eyes unreadable for a moment, then his violet gaze settled back into their spine-chilling study. "Back to business, then. A boy by the name of... Ryo... is here... and is looking for you."

My mind processed the information with a surge of irritation.

_Damn_ Ryo! He couldn't just... drop off the side of the earth, or just disappear, could he...?

"You must be part of Team Toguro," I observed, masking my exasperation with indifference. I remembered a distant conversation with Ryo, something connecting him to the Toguro Brothers... "To know Ryo, I mean."

"...Perceptive," Karasu replied simply, eyes frozen on mine in an uncanny, inhuman display of scrutiny.

_Team Toguro, then._ I noted mentally. I frowned. _But then Karasu would be far too powerful to be taking orders from a punk kid like Ryo... something's not right..._

I broke free from my tangled thoughts as Karasu lifted a hand—a gesture of farewell, and brushed past Jin and I.

"Farewell, Reina. Perhaps we will meet again."

When I turned, he was already gone.

"Tha's a creeper," Jin observed tactfully, shooting me a worried sort of look. "You alrigh', Reina? Yeh look kinda pale..."

I glanced up into Jin's concerned expression, then forced an unconcerned laugh and waved a hand through the air, reassuringly. "No, no, I'm fine... Jin." My smile grew wider, a little more sincere. "After all, it's not every day you see a pseudo-vampire... I'm fine, really."

"Alrigh'." Jin said slowly, disbelieving. "C'mon, let's go."

* * *

It took us about fifteen minutes to reach the arena, and all of three seconds to find Kurama, after I lifted the Barrier Stone from my neck to seek out his aura. It was a familiar thing now—I could easily pick him out of the horde of demons milling in the stands.

He was standing about halfway up in the bleachers, apart from the less dignified, demonic spectators, arms crossed and eyes intent on the fight below.

"Hey," I puffed, coming level with the red-headed demon and offering him a smile.

"Hello," Kurama replied, gaze flicking from my face, to Jin. Jin had followed me like a lost puppy, or a second shadow, up into the stands. Now he was standing by me, grinning up at Kurama with open friendliness, pointed ears twitching in interest.

"Me name's Jin!" The Irish apparition introduced himself, brandishing an outstretched hand for Kurama to shake. After a beat of hesitation, and shooting me a confused "you-will-explain-this-later" look, Kurama took it.

"Kurama."

Jin nodded excitedly. "Yah, I know. Yeh did great in the last figh'! Beatin' Roto even after he hypnotized yeh!"

"Thank you," Kurama said vaguely, not bothering to correct him, casually twisting his hand out of Jin's handshake. He frowned slightly, looking down at me, but spoke to Jin. "You know Reina...?"

"Jin... helped me out of a tight spot a few minutes ago," I explained, smile fading slightly as Kurama blinked, frown deepening.

"Yup!" Jin said cheerily, nodding.

There was a silence, during which Kurama just stared at me, still frowning. I averted my gaze.

"Well..." Jin said after a time, an impish grin blooming on his features. He tapped my sweater-clad shoulder. "Reina, whaddaya say tha' I show yeh wha' I can do wi' wind, eh...?"

I blinked.

"Um." I glanced up at Kurama, lifting an eyebrow. By the time I realized that this reaction was ridiculous—asking Kurama for _permission_, really?—he had already answered Jin for me.

"I'm afraid that Reina will have to see that some other time, Jin," Kurama answered politely, lips quirking up in an apologetic smile.

Jin blinked several times, taken aback. Then a sly sort of smirk slipped onto his face, and he looked between Kurama and I with a crafty expression that I was instantly suspicious of.

"Ah... I see," Jin said, the devious look glinting in his ice-blue gaze. "All th' good ones're taken, even th' humans, righ'...?"

I spluttered indignantly, trying to find witty words of denial, but Kurama beat me to it, a smirk almost as conniving as Jin's (and that was saying something) appearing on his face.

"That's right," Kurama said, in a voice that would sound sincere to Jin, who didn't know him well enough to tell the difference, but was in fact dripping with sarcasm. He shot a smirk in my direction, and dropped a careless arm around my shoulders, pretending to look coy for Jin's benefit. Instead of spouting out a retort, I found the situation far too funny and snorted into my hand, shaking with pent-up laughter. My face was red; I could feel my cheeks burning.

Jin let out a laugh. "Then... godspeed, Kurama," he chuckled in a heavily accented voice, clapping Kurama on the shouder. Then, with a wave in our direction, he leaped into the air, conjuring a vortex of wind underneath him, and whisked away, down the stands, and out of sight.

"Well," Kurama said after a beat of silence, letting his arm fall from my shoulders, "that was interesting."

His joking demeanor vanished, to be replaced with a look of serious intent. I grimaced as he opened his mouth to speak.

"What was this 'tight spot' you got yourself into, exactly...?" Kurama asked, frowning down at me.

I smiled and tried to make a joke of it, sighing inwardly, "Oh, the usual," I said casually, shrugging. "Demons picking on the poor little human girl. You know." Kurama's frown deepened, and I sighed, adding, "I'm fine, really."

"It's usually your defense that gets you into trouble," Kurama said, frowning as he pondered a way to word what he was thinking, "but... I suppose you just have an abnormal, literal case of animal magnetism. You draw demons like a moths to a light."

He sounded so funny—like a doctor announcing a diagnosis, that I burst into peals of laughter, covering my mouth with my hand.

"You're right—about that, Kurama," I managed between giggles. "I mean..." I waved at him, "_you're _here, aren't you...?"

Kurama smiled a little ruefully, understanding the joke. "I suppose."

"Nah, scratch that," I amended, smirking and straightening up, a flicker of intuition fuelling a new tease, "you're really just a _tame _demon—not one inhuman bone in you."

Kurama stared at me for a second, uncomprehending, then a menacing sort of smile flashed across his features, and his version of a leer was cast in my direction.

"Oh, really...?"

I snorted, waving a hand as if to brush away a fly. "Please. Not the 'I _is_ a _demon_ and you should be _cowering_ in _terror_' act _again_..." I smirked, rolling my eyes and waggling a finger in Kurama's direction. "You, Kurama, think a little too highly of yourself."

Instead of smiling faintly and discarding the subject, Kurama's grin grew and he leaned in closer to me, eyes gaining a strange feral glint.

"One day..." he said in a low, deadly voice, the smirk looking slightly more evil and menacing than before, "I will show you... the meaning of _fear_..."

I stared him down, grinning.

"Sure, sure," I said dismissively, smiling to myself as I looked away, out over the demonic audience, the picture of composure. "Not very convincing, Kurama."

There was a long moment of silence. I continued to scan the crowd, glancing down at the fight, thinking that Kurama had given up and was doing the same.

A low, threatening growl snarled into my ear.

I yelped and leaped away, hands lifted in defensive fists, then eyeballed the sight of Kurama doubled over and laughing. He leaned against the railing, trying to stifle his laughter with his hand, but failing miserably.

"Okay," I said a little breathlessly, but managed to make my voice scornful.

I lifted two fingers. "Two things."

Kurama lifted his face to look at me, still smirking, fighting laughter.

"One," I dropped a finger, "that was _so_ cheating."

Kurama chuckled, straightening up, eyes bright with mischief.

"Two," I dropped the other finger, then paused. My voice became incredulous. "Did you just _growl _at me...?"

In answer, Kurama covered his mouth with his hand, shoulders heaving as he guffawed into his palm. I couldn't help but smirk at the sight—seeing Kurama speechless with mirth was oddly funny.

"Men," I said, the corners of my lips twitching upwards as I watched Kurama gasp for air, "Animals. All of them."

Kurama recovered from his amused fit, flicking tears of hilarity from his eyes, and smirked down at me. "I may be an animal," Kurama said with a wide grin, "but _you,_ Reina, are the magnet."

I blinked. Twice.

"Alright..." I said suspiciously, crossing my arms and lifting an eyebrow. "Who are you... and what have you done with Kurama? Because I know..." I let out a short, disbelieving laugh,

"that the Kurama _I_ know would never have uttered the _corniest _pick-up line I have _ever _heard in my _entire_ life."

Kurama just laughed.

I shook my head and looked back down at the fight. At this height, I couldn't actually see anything, but it was better than having to watch Kurama laughing at me. Even if the spectacle was, admittedly, amusing.

"Oh," I heard Kurama say suddenly, voice still slightly amused, but he seemed to have regained his usual, semi-stoic composure. "Your aura… you haven't told me about that yet…"

I looked back up at him, blinking in a second of confusion, then laughed once, waving my hand.

"It's nothing special, really. Botan gave me an amulet that binds my powers… look…" Turning away for the sake of decency, I reached down into the collar of my shirt and drew up the Barrier Stone, not lifting the chain from my neck, but holding the blood-red amulet in my palm, and tilted it towards Kurama.

It glinted innocently in the sunlight. I looked up.

"But there's a catch… there always is." I rolled my eyes. "If I intentionally try to use my powers, the amulet will leech my spirit energy out of me. I could probably get it back… but…"

I paused in mid-shrug, and frowned slightly, studying Kurama's features.

He stared at the amulet with a sick look on his face, like he had just remembered something that he was supposed to have done in the past, but had never gotten around to accomplishing it. His brow was furrowed in queasy concentration, and his eyes were frozen with sickened recognition. It was his reaction that made my voice rise sharply as I questioned him:

"Kurama? What's…?"

He tore his eyes from the stone in my palm, the ailing expression on his face clearing and becoming one of puzzled incredulity, unblinking eyes holding mine.

"That amulet…" he said slowly, doubt underlying his tone, as if he couldn't believe this, "belonged to a late friend of mine…" Kurama averted his gaze, biting off his sentence, staring unseeingly in a wayward direction, eyes unfocused.

"Who?" I pressed when he made no sign of answering, eyes trained worriedly on his face. It was an unnerving thing to see Kurama… disturbed. It wasn't right, Kurama never lost his equanimity. I reached out and touched his arm gently, interrogatively, "Kurama…?"

Kurama lowered his gaze to meet mine. In it, I saw an unfathomable concoction of muted sadness, puzzled denial, and, at the same time, a resigned sentiment that made his tone low, a monotone.

"His name was… Kuronue."

* * *

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**REJECTED LEAD-IN QUOTES ABOUT MAGNETISM:**

"Magnetism is one of the Six Fundamental Forces of the Universe, with the other five being Gravity, Duct Tape, Whining, Remote Control, and The Force That Pulls Dogs Toward the Groins of Strangers." – Dave Barry


	19. Identity

**Thank you _MizuKaji_, _Wolf-Maiden Mitsuki_, _unknown player_, _RandomCitizen_, and _Otaku-neku_ for reviewing since I last updated! :)**

* * *

"_In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."_

_-Martin Luther King, Jr._

Identity

* * *

_Where am I...?_

_I blinked several times, but the masklike darkness didn't cease to obscure my surroundings... it was everything. A deep, endless, inescapable oblivion was all that my reality amounted to. _

_I rubbed at my invisible arms, sitting cross-legged on the tangible, yet indiscernible ground. I groped unseeingly in the utter darkness, and my fingers brushed the surface under me. Cool and flat, like tile._

_I didn't dare stumble to my feet. I would end up running into something... or, for all I knew, the place I was sitting was the only thing that existed. Beyond, it could be an obscured drop, a trap. Death._

_But... I was not afraid. Blinking, I twisted my head around, searching for a tiny flicker of light, for anything. Even when I found nothing, my heart was still; my mind was calm. _

"_Kurama...?" I asked easily, and my voice echoed. Instantly, I knew—in this world of dreams, that he was the source of my comfort. The demon that I had known for over half a year now... he would be here._

Why should I be afraid?_ I mused to myself evidently, bracing my palms against the floor, leaning back on my hands. If I were in any _real_ danger, he would save me._

_Fear was an indiscernible, nonexistent thing, here, immersed in myself. After all, this was just a dream._

_Wait._

_I turned my head, peering through the oblivion. Because, now... there was something to focus on._

_An aura. I cocked my head, watching it. The presence was... visible. A deep crimson light, speeding in my direction. I frowned as the first vestiges of fear worked their way into my mind, clouding it._

_The aura was demonic._

_And it was, I knew... absolutely different from anything I had ever encountered. _

_There was a certain, unidentifiable quality... forgetting my earlier wariness of a sheer drop off, I pushed myself to my feet and hugged my arms around myself, watching the disturbing mass intently as it drifted closer. _

_And I pinpointed the difference._

_It didn't pull on my defense. The aura was _there_, but it was wholly separate from me... I had no connection to it with my spiritual power; my energy wasn't sapping away as I studied the demonic energy... it was just bracing itself. I marveled at the fact—in this place... in my dreams..._

_That was as far as I allowed my mind to go. I would not, could not think those things. I refused. Denied that my logic could be torn apart by a simple, hidden sentiment... one that, here, I could not deny. It was blatantly obvious in the forefront of my sub consciousness. And I feared it._

_The aura loomed closer._

_I stood my ground, clearing my thoughts._

_A flash of black—a wing, stirring the equally dark air. Its leathery length was tinged with red, the aura framing the edges, giving it a sinister glow. The wind of its passing swirled my hair around me, the ends coming up to softly brush my inner arm. My fingers clenched automatically on contact._

"_Who are you...?" A deep, baritone voice. Carefree sounding, but also edged with a hint of malicious curiosity. The figure, silhouetted by his aura, stepped closer until I had to crane my head to look up at him. The fear I had felt earlier melted away as I scrutinized his features, trying to make them out. I didn't say anything. _

_He was guarded, yes... but I didn't think he meant me harm._

_Even after his hand came up to seize my chin, tilting my head back further, I wasn't afraid. This was a dream, after all. My defense reared up inside me at his touch—demonic skin on mine—but it was easily forced down and I simply studied this curiosity, this demon._

_He hissed slightly out of surprise. "You look like her. You feel like her. Are you...?"_

_I blinked. I still couldn't make out his shadowed features. "I don't know what you're talking about," I answered casually, reaching up and taking his hand—marveling at how his touch made me feel—my defense rising instinctively, but not uncontrollably. _

_Simply existing, but not... burning._

_The effortless thing—skin contact—had become a novelty in these months... I shied away from any of it automatically, remembering what it could do to demons, and me. So strange to overcome that. I let the stranger's hand drop._

"_Masuyo?" He prompted. His aura flared up as he said the name, almost angrily—and in response, I recognized mine as well, electric blue, flickering on his face. It was thrown into sharp relief._

"_You, you're Kurama's—" I gasped, surprised. I stumbled backwards, hand rising to my throat, staring at him. The fact that this was a dream was forgotten; also the fact that I had never met this demon, only heard of him. "Is it...?"_

_His eyes narrowed. I took another cautionary step back, but this time, he followed me. _

"_How do you know Kurama? Who are you...?" He took another step forward. I scuttled backwards, eyes wide, adrenaline—a thing that had been absent in this surreal realm—now burning through my veins._

_Kuronue's eyes flashed. "How did you get in here?"_

* * *

"Kuronue, you said?" Botan asked curiously, frowning thoughtfully. "But…"

"I know, I know," I stayed her, holding my hands up as if to ward off a blow. "I never knew him—Kurama said yesterday that he died half a millennia ago—but he also described Kuronue to me."

Botan rocked back on her heels, patiently waiting for me to complete my reasoning.

We were sitting on the bed that Shizuru and I shared, across from each other, me leaning against the wide wooden headboard, with our light breakfast of crescent rolls balanced on a tray between us. It was about an hour before we had to leave for the next match—the boys against Team Ichigaki.

I sighed, furrowing my brow as I thought of a way to word my explanation—which I didn't really understand myself—into terms that Botan could understand. Or anyone else, for that matter. As I thought, I reached up subconsciously to twist the Barrier Stone's chain between my fingers, noting to myself that I had left it on my neck overnight. I usually just let it sit on the bedside table when I went to sleep—force of habit. It was a matter of self-preservation—so I would know if a demon was about to crawl through the window. Then it hit me.

"Kuronue died to keep this," I said simply, weighing the amulet in my palm, the blood-red stone glinting dully in the dim light of morning. "of course I would have a dream about him… with this thing hanging around my neck. Besides…" I grimaced slightly at the memory, "Kurama's face… when he told me what had happened…"

I remembered it well, and was surprised that I hadn't had a dream (nightmare, really) about _Kurama_. His expression had been unlike anything I had seen displayed on his features before… almost… helpless. Hollow and forsaken as he had remembered…

"_I don't know why he turned back," Kurama said dully, eyes vacant and staring out over the demonic crowd. To anyone else, he would look like he was watching the fight below, but I knew that his thoughts were miles away, five hundred years ago, in the darkest recesses of Makai. _

"_He had acquired the amulet in a raid…" Kurama's eyes flashed slightly, betraying some sentiment that I wasn't supposed to see, "but I haven't the faintest idea why it meant that much to him… to risk, to _end_ his life that way…"_

_I felt awkward, shifting my weight from one foot to the other, chewing on the inside of my lip. It was odd to be in this position—almost as if our roles had been switched, our identities swapped suddenly and strangely—Kurama the confused one, me the only (mildly) sensible and calm person in this conversation._

_It was... wrong, in a way. I was used to having Kurama's shoulder to lean on, a resource, a foundation. And he had crumpled right underneath me, leaving me here, unsure of what to do, and utterly, shamefully hopeless. How could he...?_

_Surprised at myself, I shook off the childish, accusatory thoughts, flushing slightly and turning my face away so he wouldn't see it. What on earth... what was wrong with me...?_

"But who's Masuyo?"

I jerked out of my reminiscing haze, and gave Botan a slightly startled look.

"Oh," I said, recovering, grabbing a crescent roll from the tray between the Grim Reaper and I, tearing off a corner and nibbling thoughtfully on the edge of it, "I don't know." I gave Botan a bemused look. That very question had been my motive for sparking this conversation—Masuyo was most definitely a name... one that I didn't recognize.

"You've never met a Masuyo...?" Botan prompted doggedly, copying me and snatching a crescent roll as well. "Kurama didn't describe... anyone else...?"

I shook my head, turning the bread in my fingers. "No, I haven't," I admitted, "and no, he didn't... and... that's what's bothering me." I frowned. "Why would I dream about someone I've never met...?"

Botan shrugged. "I guess you just had a long day," she offered, stuffing the rest of the bread into her mouth. "Wemph nedh teh gough."

"Come again?"

Botan swallowed, and smiled sheepishly. "We need to go," she repeated, sliding off the mattress, patting me maternally on the top of my head. "Don't worry too much about it. It's probably nothing."

I stared pensively down at my breakfast, now squished into an unappetizing, shapeless lump in the palm of my hand. Then I looked up.

"Yeah, you're right, Botan," I decided, casting the bread back onto the tray, rising to my feet. "It's nothing."

* * *

It was loud. And obnoxious. And there was a certain smell that I suspected was B.O. lingering in the air...

You guessed it. Day three of the Dark Tournament.

"Those teams ain't complete!" A paunchy, bruise-colored demon bellowed down at Koto, the announcer, clawed hands curved around his mouth to magnify his guttural (not to mention irritating) complaints.

"Annoying..." I grumbled, but looked over at Botan. "But... he has a point. Where're Kurama and Hiei...?"

Botan's face fell. "I was about to ask you the same question..." she admitted, looking sheepishly downtrodden.

I frowned, looking back over at the teams—only Yusuke, Kuwabara, and the masked fighter... and their three opponents—with worry pulling at the threads of my consciousness. "They wouldn't back out," I insisted quietly. "Maybe Hiei... what with his arm... but not Kurama."

What I refused to say hung tangibly in the smelly, yell-ridden air between Botan and I, weighing my tongue down. I couldn't say it, even if I wanted to.

"Do you think..." Botan said tentatively, and I glanced back at her. Her eyes were worried, and she chewed nervously on her bottom lip. "Maybe... they're... in trouble...?"

A knot formed in my stomach. I set my teeth, and looked back down, into the stadium.

"Probably." _Kurama..._

Shizuru and Keiko, oblivious to Botan's and my conversation, simply stared down into the arena, identical looks of confused apprehension furrowing their brows, turning down the corners of their lips. I looked away from them quickly. If everyone I knew, and respected, were troubled about Hiei and Kurama's absence, then it would be all over. Any hope I had of their showing up would skip out the door, and I would lose my composure to worry.

"Time is up. Both teams step forward," Koto announced, not helping my anxiety situation, trilling voice booming over the speakers. Her declaration somewhat silenced the rabidly obsessed demonic audience, though they continued to howl about the team's lack of fighters.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and the Masked Fighter stepped forward. As did Team Ichigaki.

Koto looked between them, ears twitching visibly in both of their directions. She lifted the microphone to her lips.

"Team captains, please decide the terms for battle."

The shortest, ugliest one on the opposing team looked up at Yusuke, wide, fanged grin even visible from where Shizuru, Keiko, Botan and I were sitting. Yusuke, I could tell, was conversing with the troll-like demon, who didn't seem to be much of a fighter (the team's manager, possibly...?) and didn't seem happy about what he was hearing. His hands gestured furiously through the air, and I could hear snippets of conversation—nothing that I could make out, only angry voice inflections—drifting up to where we girls were sitting.

Kuwabara looked oddly tense.

I glanced over at Shizuru to see if she had noticed, and could tell she had. She was sitting on the edge of her seat, ever-present cigarette smoldering gently, hanging from her fingertips. Her lips were turned down into a pensive frown, as if she were listening intently to something, and working to make out what she was hearing.

"That's right, kiddo," Shizuru said suddenly, cryptically. Her gaze didn't move from her younger brother's back. "For once, you're right."

Botan wasn't the only one left confused by Shizuru's enigmatic, solemn statement. She and I exchanged glances, then Botan leaned forward, around Keiko, to catch Shizuru's gaze.

"Pardon?"

"There's some strong emotions down there... little bro senses it too." Shizuru didn't look away from the arena, and she didn't wedge her cigarette between her lips, which meant that she was completely absorbed in whatever had made her speak. She actually looked troubled—not surprised, mind you, Shizuru was naturally too indifferent for that—but her eyes were fixed immovably on the arena.

" And... it's getting to him."

Botan seemed to start. "Is something wrong with Yusuke?" She asked quickly, fretting. So briefly that I wasn't even sure I had seen it, Keiko turned her head to shoot Botan an incredulously nasty look.

I felt tempted to laugh at Keiko's mute show of girly jealousy, but Hiei and Kurama's no-show was still in the forefront of my mind, and I listened intently to see if we had to worry about anyone else on Team Urameshi.

"No, the other team." Shizuru shook her head as she spoke, twisting her three inches of death (a.k.a.—her cancer stick) in her fingers. A fluff of tobacco poked out of the end of it, and a single, miniscule ember drifted to the floor at her feet, where it died.

"Just imagine a desperate scream... from far away," Shizuru continued in a musing, apathetic voice, without any prompting. "You can't hear what it's saying... but you just know what's about to happen... and you can't do anything about it." Shizuru's eyes finally flicked away from her brother, but she averted her gaze to the ground. "That's what's bothering him..." she said simply, voice dispassionate but tinged with sisterly concern. "And I can sense it too."

"That sounds horrible," Botan said quietly.

Shizuru had said that... the thing that was bothering Kuwabara had to do with the other team. I looked down at them, the still, unnaturally immobile fighters, and was overwhelmed with a sudden truth. It turned my voice over to horror, disgust, and I saw those fighters—boys, really, no older than Yusuke—in a new light.

"Team Ichigaki... they don't want to fight, do they?" I asked, looking over at Shizuru. "They don't want to fight..." I repeated in a murmur, feeling something in my stomach twist in nausea.

Shizuru nodded.

Keiko seemed to succumb to the weight of the conversation. "Can we do something to help?" She asked, eyes wide and innocently worried.

Before we could answer, the match began.

Koto lifted her mic-less hand into the air, lifting the amplifier to her lips.

"Last team with a standing member wins! Ready...? _Begin_...!"

If there was a word to describe what commenced immediately after Koto's announcement, it would be _explosion_. A combustion of several violent attacks (dealt out by Team Ichigaki) in such incomprehensible speed that it was over before I could see what had happened.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and the Masked Fighter stood, crouched warily, on the defensive, in a corner of the ring. Their three opponents blocked all routes of escape.

Koto was amazed. "Incredible!" She publicized, backing away from the members of Team Ichigaki—she may sound ditzy, but was smart. "Unfortunately, the moves were too fast for me to see..."

Botan gnawed on her bottom lip, rising halfway out of her seat as Team Ichigaki stalked closer to the boys—disturbingly sinuous and lithe in their advance... considering that they were all human.

"Forget this!" Botan burst out suddenly, startling me. She looked down at me, forehead creased in worry, frowning decisively. "I'm getting a better view. Coming, Reina?"

I nodded and stood, backing out onto the stairwell. "Sure. See you guys later..." I mumbled awkwardly, directing a half-wave to Keiko and Shizuru, who weren't even paying attention to Botan's and my leave-taking. Not that I could blame them, I reasoned, as I subconsciously glanced back to our team, eyes straining to see if they had an escape. I saw none.

Then Botan was tugging on my arm, and I tore my eyes away from the standoff in the ring. It was not truly a fight... more like... I frowned as I stumbled along in Botan's wake, trying to fit the clash of the two teams' down in the ring with a proper descriptive metaphor...

Like... animals, almost. Feral, wild things that were equally powerful, locked in a stalemate, wary of each other.

Weird. But true.

Suddenly Botan stopped, balking, and my forehead thunked into her shoulder. Twisting my elbow out of her grip and glowering halfheartedly up at my friend, I opened my mouth to ask her why she had halted so suddenly.

But, as I did, my eyes slid past Botan, settling confusedly on what had stayed her.

A boy. Just a boy, a human one, with a jagged mane of brown hair brushing his shoulders. I looked him up and down, bemused, unrecognizing. A sword strapped to a belt at his waist.

Holy...

My mouth popped open, mind stunned as I recognized him.

Ryo.

Since I had last seen him, he had grown taller, more muscular. Kind of like Kuwabara's transformation, from his training with Hiei and Kurama. His face was drawn and hard, jaw clenched tightly. His hands were clenched in loose fists at his sides.

Then it hit me.

_Ryo._

The stupid, traitorous, idiot _boy_ who had nearly gotten me killed, _twice_—once by almost strangling me himself, the other by dropping information about my weaknesses into the Toguros' demonic hands... _Takeo _Ryo, the... the... I struggled with a word derogatory enough to describe the fury that construed my features into a livid grimace, and failed. His name was a proper explicative.

Where the hell was Kurama when you wanted him to _murder_ someone...?

"The... the hell do _you_ want, Ryo...?" I hissed, stumbling over my words in anger, fists clenched, trembling and glove-clad, at my sides. "How do you have the _nerve_..."

And, eyes oddly distant, hollow—as my anger washed over him in seething waves—he opened his mouth to speak.

* * *

**Ryo's POV**

"Meet me here... after all this is over, alright?" I gritted out, unable to look her in the eye, gesturing to the flight of stairs that we were standing on, thousands of disgusting demons yelling their lungs out all around us.

I wondered idly how Reina could stand being in this place. Shouldn't she have keeled over by now? Fainted? Gone home? Her defense should've killed her by now.

Hell.

She was going to die anyway.

Reina's sour expression faltered, and she blinked. A split second later, her eyebrows lowered into a severe, suspicious line over untrusting eyes. "What can't you tell me now... in front of my friend, Ryo?" She asked coldly. Her eyes narrowed in to a withering look.

"And don't lie to me."

"Just do it!" I ordered, heart constricting into a knot of cold guilt—all of my faults, in a tangible, invisible snare strapped to my back. Weighing me down.

I closed my eyes, forcing myself to take calm, even breaths. If Reina didn't... trust me... this goddamned ruse would blow up in my face. Literally.

"Tell me what you need to say," she said, lifting a single eyebrow and crossing her arms, defiant. "No use in being embarrassed—Botan knows that you have a lot to apologize for." She frowned.

"At least, I'm _assuming_ that's why you're here," she added contemptuously, glaring at me. "To explain why you joined up with the Toguros... why you've always been such an idiot..."

"Please, Reina," I wrestled my voice into a pleading tone. Her insults fell silently on my deaf ears. "I'll explain everything. I promise."

She seemed to consider it, and then shook her head. Against my will, I pleaded:

"Please. There's something here that you should be worried about—it isn't me. I'll explain _everything_ if you just meet me here when this is over. Okay?"

Her mouth popped open, then snapped shut.

_No Reina... don't you do it...! Don't you trust me...!_

My mind howled wordlessly as her jaw set, contemplating. And she nodded.

"Fine."

I felt cold.

So _damn_ trusting... why couldn't she see the warning in my eyes, the lie in my promise?

Because _I _wouldn't be there, waiting for her.

Why couldn't she see... that she had just hammered the last nail into her coffin...?

There was nothing more I could do. I turned away, avoiding the look of her friend—the stunned stare of that Grim Reaper lady. Botan, I think. Maybe she could convince Reina to stay away. I could only hope.

"Ryo..."

Thin fingers tugged imperatively at my elbow. I wrestled my expression in one meant to placate, and looked down at her.

Her expression was suddenly concerned, worried, and I hated that.

"Ryo..." Reina repeated. "Is something wrong...?"

Yeah. Everything.

But instead of blurting out the truth, as every fiber of my being screamed at me to do, I shook my head.

"It's alright... Reina." The lie was thick on my tongue. I stared down at her. In her eyes, I could tell... she knew something was wrong. Her eyes held mine, trying to unravel the hidden falsehood. I averted my gaze and twisted my arm out of her grip.

"See you later."

And I turned away from her, for the last time. She didn't call after me.

I turned a few corners, walking the length of the hallway like a zombie, a dead man. My mind knew where I was going, and directed me forward, inexorably... but I hardly cared anymore.

Because of this, my pride, my honor, was broken. Shattered into tiny, unsalvageable bits that reflected this spineless monster that I had become, a thousand faces, a thousand lies. My hands... in my blurred vision, they seemed to be dripping with blood. Reina's. It was a brand I would carry for the rest of my life, I knew—and I also realized that I deserved to see that invisible, scarlet stain... every day, until I died.

It was a weak attempt at redemption... but it was all I could do. Wallow and writhe in my goddamned misery.

The tunnel gaped wide, looming ahead, a chasm fro my nightmares.

Lounging casually in the entrance was my worst fear, and the source of my hate.

"Very good," he said simply, and the weight vanished from my back.

My curses, my oaths were forgotten as I stood, paralyzed, totally at his mercy and disgustingly afraid. I couldn't even glare, knowing that if I did, I would see his true self... and that was not a risk I was willing to take.

* * *

**Reina's POV**

Outside, in the stadium, Koto's voice was excitedly commentating on the fight that Botan and I had abandoned for the moment, describing things that we—to our chagrin—couldn't see for ourselves. The sensation of ignorance was kind of like strapping a blindfold over your eyes, and crawling through a snake pit. It was terrible.

"Offense _really_ isn't an option for Team Urameshi right now... it's run or be gutted!"

Yep. It was pretty bad.

"Oh _hell_ no...!" I yelped, putting on another burst of speed, and outstripping even Botan, who had a good four inches of stride on me.

"Reina!" Botan puffed, coming level with me, and struggling to pull something out of her jacket pocket. "Here...!"

And she shoved a crisp, square piece of paper into my hands. As we bolted down the stairs, taking two at a time, I chanced a glance at it.

"I'm team trainer now?" I panted incredulously, folding the slip in two and shoving it into my jeans pocket, stumbling at the foot of the stairs because of my tiny preoccupation.

"No, silly. Just to get by.. the guards.. at the gate," Botan wheezed, looking exhausted as we skidded around a corner. "I have one... too..."

"Fly under the radar," I realized, grinning up at the blue-haired ferry girl. "Cheating the system... you're useful after all, Botan..."

She smirked, then pointed. "Here!"

After flashing our bogus passes at the demons guarding the arena's entrance, we stumbled back into the blinding sunlight. The entranceway acted as a wind tunnel, siphoning the cold breeze into something that was biting, and freezing. I yanked up my hood, reminded vaguely of Jin's power over wind.

Thinking of which...

My train of thought was interrupted as Koto's voice boomed over the stadium, capturing my attention instantly.

"What's wrong with the Urameshi Team?" Koto quipped, sliding to a stop behind Yusuke, head cocked, ears twitching speculatively as she narrated the fight in an increasingly annoying voice. "Have they forgotten how to throw a punch, how to do _anything_ but run like sissies...? _Give us some offense_...!"

"That little..." I snarled indignantly, stalking in her direction, clenching the fingers of my right glove with my left hand. That demonic announcer simply _insisted_ on pissing me off...

Maybe I wouldn't have reacted so violently if I hadn't just talked to Ryo—just seeing him again had set me on edge.

And then there was his weird behavior...

Almost... anxious. Like he had wanted to say something, but didn't. _No..._ I corrected myself mentally, pausing in my furious advance, _Almost as if... he couldn't._

Which was bewildering in itself. I knew Ryo... if he had something to say, he would say it. That was just... him. It was confusing. And it was annoying.

Stifling a growl that Kurama would be proud of, I slipped my glove back on.

And there was the irritation again.

"_Where_ are Kurama and Hiei?" I called back to Botan, agitatedly shoving my bangs out of my face, looking over at her. In my restless pacing, she had fallen behind and was now hovering anxiously on the outskirts of the ring, wringing her hands and watching the fight—blurred in its speed—with rapt and fretful attention.

She didn't get a chance to answer. A scratchy, nasal voice answered for her.

"Heh... I can _imagine_ how much _fun_ my robot's having with Hiei and Kurama..."

I glanced swiftly to where the voice had come from—Team Ichigaki's manager—a troll–like demon whose lack of height could rival even Hiei's. While walking up and down the grassy no-man's land in a haze of apprehension, I had unwittingly circled the ring until I was standing next to him.

"_What_ did you say?" I gasped incredulously, mouth gaping open in horrified realization. And, as incredulity quickly gave way to anger, my voice dropped into a deadly growl and I took a step towards Ichigaki, fists shaking in poorly-concealed rage.

"That's why they're not here... you-_you_...!"

Ichigaki laughed—a wheezing, disgusting sound that sent chills racing up my spine. With a wide, sadistic smirk on his doughy features, he looked up at me and retaliated:

"_Ingenious_, isn't it...?" He laughed again, like air being released from a balloon, a sinister, drawn-out hiss. "My demon robot _repels _all demonic energy—they won't even scratch it...!"

"How _dare_ you—" I growled, and, instinctively, I jerked the Barrier Stone over my head, shoving it harshly into my jeans pocket. My head burned. My vision was red—from anger at Ichigaki's sabotage, or my spiritual energy wafting out of me and into the stands, silently attacking the crowd of apparitions, I didn't know.

"Yes, all of my inventions are working _splendidly_." Ichigaki chuckled to himself, ignoring me—even the presence of my defense—and turning his attention back to the fight. "_Especially_ my verouki..."

"Hey, cabbage patch, I'm _talking_ to you—"

"—Millions of micro- electronics pumping through their blood... _enslaving_ their minds..." Ichigaki seemed overly gleeful at the thought, and was overcome with the nasal giggles before continuing his monologue. "The circulatory system controls _all_...! Control the blood, control _everything_...!"

"Whoa!" Koto yelped before I could retort to Ichigaki's mad ravings. Something about her voice made me look up instantly, on alert.

"Something _unprecedented_ in _all_ of the Dark Tournament's history—" Koto announced dramatically, darting across the tiled ring, to my right. "The Masked Fighter took one for team leader Yusuke Urameshi—" she took a flying leap off of the ring, landing in a crouch on the grass and sprinting off again, "—_naturally_ I'm going to assess the _gruesomeness_ of his wounds…"

"Have a heart…" I grumbled, forgetting Ichigaki for the moment and standing on tiptoe to get a better view. From where I was standing, I couldn't see anything. Shooting the troll doctor a glare, one which he didn't see (he was hunched over a large and professional-looking calculator, obviously absorbed), I walked past him and started to stride to Team Urameshi's fallen member.

But, before I had gone very far, the Masked Fighter was gone.

His comeback was only a blur of movement, but it was enough—I had been around Hiei and Kurama enough to trace afterimages to their tangible counterparts. Watching Hiei and Kurama train Kuwabara _had_ helped me… a little. Though, admittedly, I never was able to see the demons before they had completed whatever attack or dodge they were executing…

Koto's voice interrupted my train of thought.

"A shocking turn of events—the recent attack has given us a glimpse of the Masked Fighter's true identity...!" Koto jogged back to the ring after the Fighter, still babbling continuously into her microphone, "It's... a young woman with brown eyes and pink hair..."

I fixed my gaze onto the un-Masked Fighter, and, though I couldn't see her eye color from my venue, Koto's words were true—the Masked Fighter definitely had pink hair, which was tied into a long plait that hung down the length of her back, tied off with a simple leather cord.

"Wow, people—I'm shocked! This fight couldn't get any weirder..." Koto said, taking a flying leap to the edge of the tiled ring, scrambling for purchase against the stone tiles.

Then, much faster than she had clambered onto the ring, Koto leaped backwards with a cry of alarm.

Blurred in speed, a demon-shaped projectile slammed into the stone platform, skipped off of it like a pebble on a pond, and crashed into the barrier wall that separated the grassy arena from the stands.

"Um." Koto said intelligently, crumpling into an undignified heap of hysteria on the outskirts of the ring, staring at the demon. "Looks like... the fifth fighter of Team Ichigaki just fell from the sky..." She seemed to regain her composure somewhat, and jumped to her feet. "Nevermind, people—_now_ this fight couldn't get any weirder..."

I glanced over at Botan, just as she looked at me. She shrugged. Then glanced up swiftly.

"Reina...!" Botan screeched suddenly, stumbling backwards, pointing imperatively to the sky, stark terror written on her features.

I looked up.

An enormous, towering, sun-blotting, Reina-squashing mass was falling rapidly in my direction, from the _freaking sky_, its shadow blackening the ground around me in a good five-foot radius. It was bewildering.

And it was also going to kill me in three...

Two...

"HOLY _HELL_...!" I shrieked, diving for the ground and senselessly drawing on my defense. The noise of the crowd dimmed, dulled—vanished entirely. A loud, celestial roaring grew in my ears, drowning all else out. My sight, smell—even my thoughts.

_HISSSSSS._

A squeak of terror escaped my airless lungs as the noise cut loudly through the air, over the crackling of my defensive aura bubble that I was curled up inside. It only allowed crouching room, and it was utterly dark.

A pinpoint of light appeared over my head, and I glanced up, squinting through my electric blue aura shield. A metallic mass was hissing as it dissolved on contact with my aura, widening the pinpoint until it was a hole, large enough for me to climb through, and I hesitantly let go of the mental grip I had on my defense. The shield flickered and died.

Sliced circuitry crackling at my ankles, I rose to my feet, and rested my gloved hands gingerly on the metallic surface, trying and failing to pull myself up. The hole my defense had drilled through this... thing... reached my shoulders. There was no way I was climbing out on my own.

Then, two familiar auras. One that I knew well, and was glad to sense. One I also knew well, and wasn't _exactly_ pleased to notice.

"Kurama, Hiei..." I said conversationally, tilting my head backwards to look at them and grinning weakly as the toll of saving myself (shielding myself with my defense from an instantaneous, gruesome death) made its presence known as the beginnings of what was sure to be a killer migraine. "Where've you guys been all this time...? Hehe..."

Kurama started, gaping down at me. "Reina...!"

Hiei spared me a look. "A thirty-foot killing machine wanted a word with us," he said, and actually smirked—though, admittedly, it was probably from my predicament, and also the fact that I was actually shorter than him at the moment.

"Reina..." Kurama said, shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts, and offered me his hand. I took it, and he yanked me effortlessly up out of my self-made peephole, lifting me nearly a foot in the air above the metallic surface before setting me down on the machine (which I know realized was most likely Ichigaki's "ingenious" robot), and frowning worriedly, giving me a once- over to see if I was hurt.

"Talkative," I observed scathingly, tapping the stretch of machinery we were standing on with the toe of my converse, and glowering down at Hiei. "If you were having such a _stimulating_ conversation with this monster, then why the _hell_ did you drop it on my head...?"

Hiei seemed to be too amused to glare, still smirking in his own sadistic way.

Before I could continue, Yusuke suddenly appeared at the edge of the ring, looking up at us. To say, Kurama and Hiei.

"Hey guys..." Yusuke's smile was grim. "You're late."

"Wow! Looks like the missing members of Team Urameshi have arrived as well...!" Koto, obviously nervous, scanned the sky for wayward, falling demons before continuing in a stammering voice, "Hiei and Kurama are _both_ here, folks...!"

"Could've been here sooner," I murmured in undertone, digging the Barrier Stone out of my jeans pocked and securing it around my throat. "Hiei, you could've sent a telepathic message to Botan, and she could've flown me to where you two were attacked." I glanced down at the midget demon, whose bitterly amused expression had darkened, and gestured to the machinery at my feet. I was standing in a slight depression where the mere presence of my aura had already started melting the robot.

"Because... this thing is _weak_."

"It blocked our energy," Kurama explained mildly. "I had to rearrange its circuitry to defeat it..."

"Well, you're here now," I said dismissively, waving my hand.

"So get down here and _help_ us...!" Yusuke bellowed. "do'ya know how _tough_ these guys are...?"

"Yes, we do, actually," Kurama answered quickly, looking down on Yusuke. "M5 told us everything... and I'm relieved your three are still alive. The verouki on their backs are the source of Dr. Ichigaki's mind control."

Kurama nodded to the trio, the opposing team, and I followed his gaze. Their eyes were blank, lifeless. There was no human sentiment in their features. They looked like machines.

"And in their present state... I'm afraid it would prove fatal to remove them," Kurama finished simply. "The three are completely innocent. They didn't know that the implants would control them."

"Why did they agree to it in the first place?" I asked quietly, looking down on the three with new eyes. I could see the verouki—flesh colored strands burying themselves in the skin of their shoulders... pulsating gently as they sucked the life out of the boys, and replaced it with imprisonment. I felt a surge of righteous fury.

"They were mislead to believe that it was... blood research. Their master was ill, but Ichigaki would heal him... if they took part in his experiments." Kurama answered, just as quietly. You would have to know him well to hear the hidden anger in his tone—as I looked up, I saw that his eyes were trained on Dr. Ichigaki. His eyes flashed.

So, he felt the same way.

Apparently, so did Kuwabara.

"That no good... little... lying _bastard_...!" Kuwabara bellowed from the ring, turning angrily on Ichigaki, who simply smiled up at him, confident behind his team of possessed human protectors.

"That's..." I managed, voice shaking in rage. I took a few steps to the edge of our mechanical perch, rolling forward on the balls of my feet, hands clenching into fists. "That _miserable _little..."

"—But that's not the worst of it," Kurama said grimly, voice rising so Yusuke, Kuwabara, and the Masked Fighter could hear. "The _Doctor_," Kurama's voice became the closest to a growl that it would ever be, "caused their master's illness in the first place."

"_What_...?" Kuwabara and I chorused.

And Ichigaki started laughing.

"Your unscientific minds are so _trivial_...!" Ichigaki howled with laughter, doubled over, cackling with mirth. "Fully blind to the larger picture! So maybe I did infect Mitamura! Maybe I _lied_ to get their bodies—and _maybe I enjoyed it_...!"

"That is seriously..." I said under my breath, to no one in particular, "sick."

"But who cares?" Ichigaki continued his insane monologue. "Behind _every_ lab discovery are a few poisoned _rats_!"

"SHUT UP, ICHIGAKI!" Kuwabara yelled, taking a step forward, but hesitating when the three of Team Ichigaki moved to compensate for his advance, putting themselves between Kuwabara and the insane doctor.

Kuwabara snarled in frustration and bellowed: "You're full of _crap_ and you know it! You don't care about this science stuff—" Kuwabara pointed an accusing finger at the troll doctor, and maledicted, "You just want to win the tournament!"

"Means to an end, _boy_, means to an end!" Ichigaki cackled, pointing a clawed finger back at Kuwabara, laughing madly. "I have no expectations of winning this! These three pawns will be _killed_ before the finals!"

Ichigaki let that sink in, then laughed, throwing his arms in the air in a very mad-scientist way.

"I only need to finish this match—then I can have Yusuke's body for my experiments...!"

"_Those_ are the terms you agreed to?" I gasped, staring wide-eyed down at Yusuke. "Yusuke... you _idiot_!"

"Leave me the hell alone, dammit!" Yusuke retorted, glowering up at me.

Ichigaki spoke before I could get a word in edgewise, still cackling with glee.

"They're strong, but they have _nothing_ like the potential you have, Yusuke," Ichigaki wheezed, gesturing to the three boys standing between him and Team Urameshi. "I'll probably dispose of them myself when this is all over!"

"SAY... _WHAT_...?" Yusuke snarled.

"THAT'S IT!" Kuwabara howled. The two boys circled around, trying to get past Team Ichigaki, but the three human boys simply moved to block them.

The Masked Fighter, re-knotting her turban back around her head, stepped agilely up to the other members of Team Urameshi, and touched their arms to get the boys' attention. A quiet exchange took place, and when it was over, Yusuke and Kuwabara stood out of their fighting stances, but didn't look any less livid.

Then Ichigaki started laughing again.

"ALRIGHT, DAMMIT, _THAT'S _IT...!" Yusuke bellowed, and darted forward before Team Ichigaki could move to block him, Kuwabara hot on his heels.

"Oh, _wow_—Dr. Ichigaki's thrown Yusuke and Kuwabara into a blinding rage...!" Koto announced, running after the two, but keeping her distance.

"DON'T DO IT!" I advised in a frantic yell, sliding off of Ichigaki's robot, landing in a crouch on the grassy floor of the arena.

But it was too late.

Team Ichigaki had already intercepted them, before my feet touched the ground.

With a sickening _crunch_, the two boys were thrown violently backwards, into the ground, shattering the stonework on the ring with the force of their impact.

I reached the edge of the arena the same time Botan did. A split second after that, Hiei and Kurama darted up behind me, blurred in speed, and prepared to jump into the ring.

But, seemingly out of nowhere, Koto materialized to block their path.

"I'm sorry, guys—but they've already agreed on a three-on-three match. If you go in now, your entire team forfeits!" Koto announced cheerily, holding out a hand to stay Kurama and Hiei and yelling into her microphone to be heard over the swelling roar of appreciative cheers emanating from the demonic audience, calling out for more bloodshed.

"You're a heartless mess, you know that?" Botan asked rhetorically, not to mention furiously, glaring up at Koto.

"Um..." Koto didn't know what to say to that.

"Don't blame her," I muttered resignedly. "Ichigaki's the one who made the boys agree to those terms..."

"Naturally," Kurama murmured in deadly tones, frowning over at the doctor. Hiei, too was looking in that direction—which meant that Dr. Ichigaki was on the receiving end of Hiei's infamous Death Glare. And then some.

"There they go, folks!" Koto squealed, leaping out of the way as Team Ichigaki advanced on Team Urameshi, brandishing their invisible weapons, hand up, arm out, fist closed.

Yusuke turned, wisely, and ran. As did the Masked Fighter.

Kuwabara, however, didn't.

"I hear you!" He yelled to the advancing team, throwing his arms out in a pleading gesture. "But you gotta tell me how to help you...!"

"—_KUWABARA_...!" Yusuke bellowed, whipping around in the middle of his retreat, freezing on the spot from surprise. Or fear. Or both.

"—The hell..." Hiei muttered.

"But... he's leaving himself wide open!" I protested frantically, looking up and over at Kurama, begging for an explanation. "He'll be killed...!"

"This is _not_ wise..." Kurama said, unhelpfully, eyes trained on Kuwabara as he stood his ground, utterly defenseless...

As Team Ichigaki ran closer, leaped into the air…

And vanished.

And Kuwabara was flying.

With a loud crash, a sickening crunch of bone—Kuwabara hit the arena floor once, twice, three times before sliding out of the ring, and rolling to a lifeless stop in the grass.

"Kuwabara goes _down_!" Koto announced finally.

Instantly, Botan took off, dropping to her knees beside the fallen member of Team Urameshi and gingerly turning him over, bracing his shoulders with her arm. I followed her, and kneeled on the other side of Kuwabara, leaning forward to peer anxiously at his face.

His eyes cracked open, and, with a wrenching moan, he wrestled himself into a sitting position, and locked gazes with Yusuke.

There was a silence.

"Sorry..." Kuwabara managed, voice strained, trembling from exertion. "I... I tried..."

And he fell back into Botan's arms. He was still.

The crowd exploded. Jeering, yelling—victorious at Kuwabara's fall, the little human that had dared trespass on their sacred, bloody ground. I wanted to cover my ears with my hands. To drown it out. Hell, to even rip the amulet from my neck and project my aura until every last one of them were gone, ashes in the wind, utterly, completely silent.

Instead, with a trembling hand, I brushed Kuwabara's hair from his face, and started pleading to my friend.

"Come on, Kuwabara... don't do this... stay with us..."

Dimly, I could hear Yusuke shouting something, furiously, but there was a buzzing noise in the back of my head, and I couldn't decipher the words, just the sentiment behind them. Anger. As long as it wasn't misplaced on those poor boys... as long as Yusuke was angry at Ichigaki...

The Masked Fighter, who had leapt off the ring, now kneeled next to me. She stretched out her hands, over Kuwabara's chest. They began to glow.

I stared at them. What did it mean? Was she healing him? Or was it some obscure ritual for the dead, those fighters that had joined the ranks of the occult, not by choice, but because of duty...?

"Yusuke," The Fighter said in a lilting, calm voice, rising fluidly to her feet. "Kuwabara will live... they missed his vitals, by inches."

I looked up at the Masked Fighter, then back down at Kuwabara's face. Then back again. She _had_ healed him...

"Amazing," Botan said, gently letting Kuwabara's head rest back on the ground. "Kuwabara's pleas really worked..."

"Not completely," The Masked Fighter amended for Botan. "Their true selves have awoken... but it will not be enough for them to gain control." She glanced down at the two of us, her single, brown eye betraying only calm collectiveness, none of the sadness reverberating through her trilling voice.

She then walked back over to the ring, and jumped back in bounds.

"Reina."

I jumped from surprise, and shrank back as I turned, looking up.

"Um. What?" I asked Kurama, blinking up at his sudden closeness.

"Their master... Master Mitamura..." Kurama's voice was an undertone, and he bent down so that I could hear, "he's just beyond the main entrance. But... he's not in... the healthiest condition, so to speak. Could you get him... while Hiei and I keep the miserable felon from sneaking away...?" With a grim smirk, he pointed over his shoulder to Dr. Ichigaki, who was currently cowering into the side of the ring, under Hiei's three-eyed, livid stare.

"Their master's alive?" I gasped.

"Yes. I created an antidote... but that's beside the point. He's in no state to walk on his own..." Kurama hinted.

"Yes." I rose to my feet. I glanced back at the fight, and grimly decided that by watching it, I couldn't help Yusuke and the Fighter anyway. I might as well do _something_ productive... "'Course I'll help him. Just keep an eye on Ichigaki."

* * *

"...Master Mitamura...?" I asked hesitantly, resting my fingers on the man's shoulder and shaking gently.

The frail-ooking, pallid man jerked from what must've been a deep sleep, and fixed his exhausted gaze on mine.

"I'm a friend of Kurama's," I explained hurriedly, with an unsure bow—I had never met a martial arts master before, and didn't know how to greet him properly—and smiled faintly down at him. "I'm here to bring you into the arena..."

"Please..." Mitamura croaked. He weakly lifted an arm, and I bent down, pulling it across my shoulders with a gloved hand.

"Carefully, now..." I said worriedly, curling my free arm around his thin waist, and helping him to his feet. He couldn't weigh much more than me—obviously, the disease had taken its toll on him. I felt a surge of hate for Ichigaki, for doing this.

"Thank... you..." he whispered in a voice that sounded like dead leaves, rasping and thin.

As we neared the entrance, I could hear Koto announcing what I had missed while I was fetching Mitamura.

"Well... I'm not really sure what happened," Koto said, as Mitamura and I shuffled into the sunlight, "but... I definitely love it! Let's see..." I saw Koto skip over to the center of the ring, and, with a jolt of stunned disbelief, I saw her bend over the three motionless figures there. On the ground. And Yusuke and the Masked Fighter were still standing.

No...

"There was a blast of light, some heart piercing... exploding verouki... and now... there's only one thing to do!"

Master Mitamura twisted away from me, stumbling into the barrier wall. His eyes were fixed on his three pupils, fallen, dead—lifeless in the ring. His eyes were no longer tired. They were stunned, frozen, agonized with loss. Numb, hollow, lifeless. I looked away, regretting that I had brought him here to see this.

"One...!"

"Two...!"

_Yusuke... Yusuke or that Masked Fighter killed them. Innocent... but they were... innocent..._

"Five...!"

_And Master Mitamura... he was brought back from his deathbed to see _this_? His students, his sons... dead...?_

"Nine!"

"And... ten...!"

There was a long silence, then all hell broke loose. The demonic collective roared out in defiance, rising as one to their feet, howling in rebellion at Team Urameshi's win.

"Hate 'em all you want, folks—that was a _definite_ win...!" Koto tried to appease the crowd, looking about her for some sympathy. And finding none. Not even from our side.

"SHUT UP, FOX GIRL! THAT WASN'T A _FRICKIN'_ VICTORY...!" Yusuke roared. Koto jumped back a step from him, holding out her microphone as if to whack him off if he tried to attack her. Which, honestly, I didn't doubt he would do.

"Master Mitamura!" I called, running to his side and helping him regain his balance; he had tripped while making his way towards the ring. "I know... it's hard... but please, don't exert yourself..."

Not seeming to hear me, he leveled his gaze on a spot ahead of us, old, wise gaze flickering with fury.

"You evil man!" Mitamura croaked. He began walking again, and I kept a hold on his arm, matching his pace. I glanced up.

Kurama and Hiei had Ichigaki (who didn't look very pleased to see Master Mitamura, mind you) cornered against the outside of the tiled ring. I fixed a heated glare on the troll doctor, and helped Mitamura make a beeline for the group.

"After seeing Mitamura's symptoms, Kurama easily created an antidote," Hiei was saying, voice cool and collected, but also, in its own way, rabidly furious.

"I also acquired a few... poisonous herbs on this island," Kurama added as Mitamura and I came level with him. From my venue, I saw a corner of Kurama's lips turn up in a menacing (not to mention creepy) grin. "Care to try one, doctor...?"

"No need, Kurama!" Yusuke growled, standing over our little group, glowering down at Ichigaki from his higher standpoint—the top of the ring.

"You ready to die?"

Instead of looking properly terrified, Ichigaki simply backed off a step, digging in his lab coat pocket.

He pulled out a vial, filled with a thick, purple substance. Kurama took an automatic step to the side, standing between Ichigaki, and Master Mitamura and I. I had a feeling that whatever Ichigaki was planning would _not_ bode well.

"Heh..." Ichigaki chuckled. "Your pathetic minds... did you actually believe that I would experiment with body manipulation..."

Not good.

Ichigaki tested the needle, squeezing the plunger so a thin spray of the strange violet substance shot out of the end, into the air.

"...and not save some for myself...?"

And, to that end, Ichigaki stabbed his wrist with the needle, and injected the fluid into his bloodstream.

Okay, _really_ not good.

Ichigaki doubled over, choking, gasping, as his skin seemed to boil... stretching, hardening, changing hue—into a sickly green color. His limbs lengthened, bursting out of his lab coat but thankfully leaving a portion of his pants to cover (unspeakable) body parts. There was a great tearing sound, and, with a shock, I realized it was a long, loud growl.

"Go, Reina!" Kurama advised quickly, lunging forward a step and plunging a hand into his mane of red hair, obviously retrieving one of the many seeds he had entangled there.

Obeying, I took a step back, pulling Mitamura behind me as I did so, and began the hastiest retreat I possibly could achieve.

And, with a roar, the transformed Dr. Ichigaki stood to his full and towering height, and leered down at us.

"That's... not... good..." I squeaked.

* * *

It ended surprisingly quickly.

Cursing the entire time, Yusuke had soundly beaten Dr. Ichigaki, and sent him flying into the stands. Thankfully, away from where Shizuru and Keiko were still sitting.

And apparently, the Masked Fighter _hadn't_ killed the three on Team Ichigaki. She had actually used a technique called the Spirit Wave, which, because of the sincere goodness of their souls, spared the three from an instantaneous death. They were currently being reunited with their master. It was a heart-wrenching sight to see—if I didn't value my life, I would've called Yusuke out for shedding a few tears of his own.

I stood with Kurama, up on the ring, staring at the group. And I laughed.

"...What?" Kurama asked, in an amused voice, looking down at me.

"It's just..." I grinned up at Kurama, a little at loss for how to explain the reason behind the contentment that was surging through me, "relieving, I guess... even in a place like this, where motives and loyalties are so... corrupted..."

I looked back over to Master Mitamura, his three students. Together again, despite the odds against them.

"That... everything... can be... as it should be," I finished simply, looking back up at Kurama and smiling.

My smile faded when I looked back up at him. I expected to see a mildly indulgent look, amused at my ramblings, or an answering grin, understanding... but his eyes were distant and his expression was almost... sad. Unfathomable... indiscernible. And I wondered at it.

"Kurama...?" I asked hesitantly, peering up at him worriedly. "Is... something wrong...?"

He seemed to snap out of it, looking back down at me with a surprised sort of expression, green eyes wide and confused. I felt a surge of relief... one that vanished almost instantly as a flash of some hidden sentiment—something I probably wasn't supposed to see—flickered across his face. In a second's time, he carefully hid it and smiled down at me. It didn't reach his eyes.

"No, of course not," he said easily, shaking his head and smiling. "Nothing's wrong."

"Alright," I said, unconvinced, and studied the group in front of us for something to do. Obviously, whatever was bothering him wasn't my business. And I was okay with that.

"You're right," Kurama murmured, so low I almost didn't hear. I didn't know if I was meant to. "This is the way it should be."

I decided to ignore the cryptic statement, pretend I didn't hear. He seemed to be talking to himself, anyway. I didn't want to mystify myself over his confusing mumblings. Besides, if I asked, he would blow it off and call it 'nothing.'

"Reina."

His utterance of my name caught me off guard, and I looked up, quirking an eyebrow in his direction. Then, to my stunned disbelief, he rested his hand on my shoulder, and smiled down at me, and it still didn't reach his eyes.

I fought the urge to shrug his hand off—after all, it was stupid; I was wearing the Barrier Stone, my shoulder was covered with my sweater, and Kurama knew the no-contact rule all too well—and tilted my head to one side, questioning him mutely with my eyes.

"It's best..." Kurama said finally, fingers still resting innocently on my shoulder, voice low, muted enough so that I had to lean forward a bit to hear him, "if you don't concern yourself, Reina. Don't worry about it."

I blinked, trying to make sense of his words. And came up blank.

"A threat?" I guessed teasingly, smirking but lifting my eyebrows in genuine bafflement.

"It's advice." And he let his hand fall from my shoulder.

"—And so in a _dramatic_ explosion of emotion—fit to make _any_ demon retch—the Urameshi Team is set to advance!" Koto proclaimed unnecessarily, turning uncertainly on the spot in the center of the ring.

"C'mon," I said, tapping Kurama's elbow and striding off for the edge of the ring, glancing back at him. "We need to get Kuwabara settled somewhere, and it's going to take more than Botan and I to carry him..."

Kurama nodded, and followed me as I strode to the edge and slipped off, landing in the grass, and walked over to where Botan and Kuwabara were.

"C'mon, let's get him off the grass..." Botan said, struggling to lift Kuwabara into a sitting position. Kurama and I each grabbed an arm, and lugged the (now unconscious) Kuwabara to his feet.

A few minutes of dragging 200+ pounds of Kuwabara to the exit, we found a small alcove equipped with a standard hospital bed set in the gate. We deposited the fallen member of Team Urameshi onto the cot, and Botan started rummaging through a First Aid kit she had found under the hospital bed. I leaned forward to help her.

_May I have your attention please?_

I looked up, seeking out the source of the feminine voice (not to mention the cheesy "_ding_–_dong_–_DING_" that accompanied it). It was coming from a small speaker mounted on the wall.

_The third round of the Dark Tournament will begin immediately._

Botan, Kurama, and I exchanged stunned glances.

"You must be joking," I said simply, looking back over at the tiny speaker.

Kurama stood, without a word, and darted out the door. Without second thought, I rose from my kneeling position at Kuwabara's bedside and dashed out after him.

_Furthermore, the committee has unanimously decided to begin the match in accordance to the match diagram—_

I reached the end of the tunnel, and sprinted into the bright sunlight—

—_Starting from the left…_

I reached what remained of our team, and turned my head to study the giant screen that flickered to show the diagram—ten or so boxes, connected by thin white lines. One of them, bearing the name of Team Ichigaki, disappeared, as well as the line connecting it to Team Urameshi.

Which left…

_Team Urameshi against Team Masho._

I looked over at Hiei, who was glowering up at the screen, at the Masked Fighter, who was doing the same, and at Kurama—who simply stared, not angry, not annoyed—just stunned. Disbelieving.

_Both teams please report to the ring._

* * *

"Team Masho, this is your last call!" Koto warned. "Enter or be disqualified…!"

A breeze blew through the stadium.

With no further warning than that bit of wind, suddenly, impossibly, a funnel of wind swirled up into the sky, obscuring the entrance constructed for the other team completely.

Then, it vanished.

In its place stood five looming figures, cloaked in black, pointed masks covering their faces. I was instantly reminded of the KKK—a racist extremist group that was well known in the U.S. I had seen pictures of them, and though Team Masho wasn't wearing the traditional white garb—I couldn't get the mental image out of my head.

"…And here they are people—appearing in the same mysterious fashion as always! Team Masho!"

As one, the team glided forward, and leaped up onto the ring, black cloaks swirling about them in the wind of their movement. I edged backwards—they had come closer in their advance on the ring, and one of them glanced quickly in my direction. A quick jab from his neighbor made him turn back and focus his attention back on Team Urameshi.

"Who wants to be team captain…?" One of the hooded figures asked lazily, voice guttural.

In mute acknowledgement, the figure who had looked my way nodded, and stepped forward.

An immense gale enveloped the figure, churning with electric blue aura that was similar to mine... but wholly demonic, I was sure. I lifted my arms against it, blocking the stinging grime disturbed by the howling wind.

And, with a final, violent swirl of aura-tinged wind, the cloak flew into the air, out of sight.

The figure grinned at us, and, upon seeing me gaping at him in openmouthed astonishment, flashed a fanged grin and waved cheerily.

It was Jin.


	20. Perception

**Thank you _MizuKaji, Wolf-Maiden Mitsuki, Delu, ShadowDmn, Moldy Strawberry, nevvy, RandomCitizen _for reviewing! :D**

**READ AUTHOR'S NOTE READ AUTHOR'S NOTE READ AUTHOR'S NOTE!**

**Okay, guys, here's the deal.**

**Remember, **_Italics is Reina's thoughts. __Italicized and underlined are Hiei's thoughts._

**Oh, and if I do a POV change, pretty much the same deal applies. The italics is the thoughts of the person I'm writing about. Like, if I wrote Ryo again, and he thought something, it would be italics. And, if for some odd reason, Hiei decided to talk to him mentally, Hiei's thoughts would be italicized and underlined.**

* * *

_"Your perception determines your reality."_

_-Anonymous_

Perception

* * *

Seeing Jin's less than antagonistic greeting for me, Yusuke, the Masked Fighter, and Hiei (all of whom, mind you, did _not_ know that I had already met the Irish demon) turned slowly and gave me a long, suspicious look.

"Oh, wonderful," I groaned.

"You _know_ these jerks?" Yusuke grumbled, sullenly, down at me. He frowned, and I knew that I had a lot of explaining to do.

Thankfully, Kurama stepped in to explain for me.

"Only Jin, the Wind Master," he informed Yusuke in undertone. "Don't jump to conclusions, Yusuke." Kurama's gaze flashed back down to me; he almost looked disappointed for some reason. I shrugged helplessly, and mouthed: _Thanks._

The explanation obviously was far from satisfactory. Yusuke's frown deepened. "_You_ know them too?"

Kurama nodded. "I had my suspicions when I first met Jin... and now I realize that 'Team Masho' is a pseudonym, really..."

"Pseudo-whatty?"

"A false identity," Kurama clarified. "In this case... their actual names are the Shinobi of the Spirit World.

"Stealth fighters," Kurama continued before Yusuke or I could ask him what he meant. "Mercenaries of the Spirit World. In more... monosyllabic terms..." Kurama glanced back down at me, expression unreadable.

"Ninjas."

The word fell like a stone; Yusuke looked back over at Team Masho with the awe of a fighter, meeting a more sophisticated kind of warrior than he, and I followed his gaze. My eyes landed on Jin, who grinned again and took a few cocky steps forward, pointed ears twitching in Yusuke's direction, speculatively.

"—Team captains, please decide the battle terms," Koto said, interrupting the multitude of questions I had opened my mouth to ask—namely, why the hell Kurama had let me hang out with a creepy shadow lurker with an Irish accent. If he had known for a fact that Jin was a freaking _ninja_...

Jin and Yusuke walked forward; Jin was showing off, blowing a crisp breeze over the ring, ruffling our clothes and hair. He smirked down at me, and I suppressed the urge to sigh.

"Yeah, you were right, Kurama," I muttered up to him, grimacing. "I sure do know how to pick them, don't I...?"

At my resigned sarcasm, Kurama's lips quirked up into a small grin, and he tapped his temple.

"Animal magnetism," he reminded me.

Jin and Yusuke stared at each other.

Jin's mouth opened, and a tangle of words spouted from his mouth, too far away for me to hear. I'm sure it wouldn't have mattered anyway—his accent would've marred the words beyond comprehension anyway.

"Yeah..." Yusuke said uncertainly, obviously not understanding. "What he said."

"Jin has asked for a series of one-on-one matches, with the advancing team taking five wins," Koto translated, and the crowd roared. "And Yusuke gives the nod!"

Kurama, the Masked Fighter, and Hiei turned and jumped out of the ring, onto the grass. Hiei and the Fighter didn't even glance in my direction, but Kurama walked to my side and smiled down at me.

"Don't worry about them," Kurama assured me kindly, as I glanced furtively over at Hiei and the Fighter, wondering nervously if they thought I was fraternizing with the enemy. "They're just worried."

I snorted at that – Hiei, worried. Sure.

"Whatever you say, Kurama," I murmured, suppressing the urge to roll my eyes at the impossibility.

_Ding–Dong–DING._

"Are you kidding me?" I grumbled, glancing up at the giant screen suspended over the stands, where the annoying noise was coming from. The screen was lined with speakers.

_May I have your attention please?_

We waited.

_The Tournament Committee will be instituting a medical examination before the next match. _

Well, that didn't seem too bad. Not to me, at least, but Yusuke, who had been locked in a stare-off with Jin, turned about with a sour look on his face, and strode to the edge of the ring, stomping out his annoyance. Hiei glared at the screen resentfully; he was obviously insulted—as this was probably caused by the pitiful state of his scorched arm.

_Due to the Urameshi Team's fighting without rest, and in accordance to Section thirteen in the index, Team Urameshi must report to the medical tent._

"As long as they don't grab my balls and make me cough," Yusuke grumbled, leaping off the ring. He glanced up at something behind me, and, with a disapproving grimace in his direction, I turned to look.

It was a nurse—demonic to be sure—who was walking out of the medical tent on our right.

A curtain of red hair fell loosely across one eye; the other one surveyed our group in a self-assured way, scanning Hiei's arm, looking Yusuke and Kurama over. She began to walk forward, swaying her hips purposefully, in a way that made me grimace, and Yusuke gape, captivated by her inhuman beauty.

"Scratch that," Yusuke managed, nullifying his last statement and staring wide-eyed at the nurse.

"Pervert!" I hissed, and whacked him on the back of the head.

"Now I _definitely_ have to get checked out," Yusuke retorted, smirking down at me and rubbing the offended spot, wincing dramatically.

"Hello, gentlemen." Her voice was deep, but not masculine—like velvet, soft and automatically calming. Her carefully manicured fingernails tapped out a rhythm on the back of her metallic clipboard as she came to a halt, peering intently into the faces of each member of Team Urameshi. I glanced away, moving casually out of the lineup, and glanced behind me for something to do.

Botan was helping a stumbling Kuwabara walk out of the exit, back into the stadium. Of course—Kuwabara would come off of his deathbed to be with his team. It was so like him.

"Yes, you two," the nurse said in a gentle voice, and as I turned to see who she meant, she gestured to Hiei and the Masked Fighter. "Would you please follow me to the medical tent?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Hiei sneered. "We need no attention. Why don't you go nurse the fool lying on his back...?" In a quick, dismissive motion, he jerked his thumb over his shoulder to indicate Kuwabara, who was indeed lying on the ground, a fretting Botan hovering uncertainly over him.

"Because his wounds do not interest me in the ways _yours_ do..." Her eyes cut down to the fire demon, smoldering. "Hiei."

And, to my intense disbelief, as the nurse turned to walk away, the Masked Fighter and Hiei simply followed, without a word.

"Well, he didn't need much convincing," I observed bluntly, in undertone so the charming little midget wouldn't hear, and glanced up at Kurama. "I'm going to go see how Kuwabara's doing, alright?" I backed off in Kuwabara and Botan's direction, giving him a falsely severe look. "Holler if you need me."

"Will do."

Nodding appreciatively, I turned around and walked over to where Kuwabara was lying in the grass.

"Still alive?" I asked pleasantly, kneeling next to Kuwabara and peering in his face.

He chuckled roughly at my sarcasm. "And kickin'," he uttered, trying to smile but wincing in pain as he did so.

Botan, however, wasn't amused. "He's not in any condition to fight," she fretted, standing over us and wringing her hands, eyes wide and worried on Kuwabara's face. "I _told_ him to stay in bed, but he wouldn't listen..."

"My team... needs... me," Kuwabara growled, cutting his puffed-up eyes up at Botan, giving her a determined look. "If they need... someone to... fight... that's what I'm here for!" The end of his melodramatic proclamation was cut short, as he started coughing, eyes watering from the pain.

"Take it easy," I warned, placing a hand on his elbow and giving him an anxious look. "You can't fight any if you cough your lungs out."

"'Precciating the support, Sparky."

"No problem." I smiled wryly.

"Oh...!" Botan gasped suddenly, whipping around, looking at something behind me. Seeing the dread in her expression, my hand automatically shot up to grab the Barrier Stone—after all, the last time I had seen that look on Botan's face was just before a thirty foot killing machine dropped out of the sky to conveniently land on my head—and I twisted around, stumbling to my feet as I did so.

The medical tent was encased in a blinding, blue–white light, shocks of electricity sparking the air thirty feet above it. Yusuke and Kurama stood, stunned, a safe distance from the pyre.

"Hiei and the Fighter!" I gasped in explanation, as I abandoned Botan and Kuwabara, sprinting over to where Kurama and Yusuke were standing.

"_Damn_ it," Yusuke was saying, as I skidded to a stop next to the two, "what's happening to them, Kurama?"

Hiei and the Masked Fighter seemed to be ensnared in tendrils of the electric, spiritual light.

"It's a force field," Kurama answered in a resigned way, looking as if he was mentally kicking himself, as if he should've known that this would've happened beforehand.

"Well isn't that pretty _damn_ convenient," Yusuke growled.

And, before either Kurama or I could stop him, he began running across the grass, dashing full tilt to the medical tent.

"HEY, REDHEAD! Why do I get the feeling that you're _NOT_ a LISCENSED NURSE...?"

And, with a wide, fanged smirk on her face, the "nurse" turned to face Yusuke.

Her hand lifted up to curl around the belt at her waist, and, with a flourish, she jerked it out of the belt loops, tossing the stretch of fabric into the air. Then, quickly, casually, she took hold of her uniform and cast it off.

Yusuke skidded to a halt as the force field increased in strength and intensity, throwing his arms up to block the blinding light, and then proceeded to gape at the half-naked demon.

Kurama and I exchanged half exasperated, half worried looks.

"Well," I said, voice dripping with sarcasm, nodding to the scantily clad demoness. "_That_ was necessary..."

But we all took a subconscious step back.

"That's correct, Yusuke," the demonic fraud said in a purr. "_Enchantress_ is more like it."

Kurama and I exchanged another look.

"I specialize in spell defense and incantations." The demon's eyes glittered. "I'm afraid your friends won't be going anywhere... anytime soon."

"Spell defense?" I muttered in undertone to Kurama.

"Like yours," he answered. "She has no offensive powers, but her defense is so strong..." He cut his eyes down to me. "Nothing can break through."

I didn't like the sound of that. And neither did Yusuke, apparently—his face was beet red, and his trembling fists were clenched so tightly that the tendons in his arms were standing out in his skin. Simply put... he was pissed.

"Well, we'll see about that," I informed Kurama, lifting a hand and grasping the Barrier Stone. "Birds of a feather, right? _Her_ defense is not equipped for that..."

The demoness tilted her head, eyeing me in an amused way, like she was humoring a child.

"Reina..." Kurama said worriedly, reaching out as if to take my arm, but hesitating at the prospect of my casting off the Barrier Stone. "I don't think..."

I stepped away from Kurama, braced myself, and tugged the Barrier Stone over my head.

Mistake.

A great roaring sound screamed in my ears, blocking out all else, scrambling my thoughts and rendering me senseless. My aura flared up visibly, sparking out violently and swirling in a funnel around me, diving towards the demoness' force field and connecting, sparking and crackling deafeningly as it did so.

At the same time, all the muscles in my body locked up, and I was completely, utterly immobile. The chaos was also mental—there was a roaring in my head, static running through my thoughts. I noted dimly Kurama taking cover a considerable distance away from me. The demonic audience was squalling above us, scattering in fear.

And, paralyzed, frozen, I felt my energy sap away, as if a cork had been pulled. Draining dry.

In a panic, I flung all of my mental barriers against my defense, which didn't help much—my actions had only bought me seconds.

Betting everything on the last thing I could think of, I focused all of my energy into my aura, and, feeling my face screw up from the effort, condensed it, absorbed it, and projected.

Its focus was vague now, so my aura dissipated so thinly that it was invisible, a transparent wall that flickered as it passed through the demonic crowd, stretching, yearning towards the openness beyond the arena...

A familiar flame flickered on the edge of my consciousness...

Limbs liberated from the onslaught of demonic aura, I wrenched my arms free from their paralysis, and, in a swift, jerky movement, yanked the Barrier Stone back over my head.

"Reina...?" Kurama questioned worriedly, edging warily forward, eyes studying my face.

I simply stared at him, and swayed on the spot.

"Yukina," I whispered.

And, as I fell forward, Kurama darted to my side and held me up, and shook me. My head lolled limply from side to side, and, as it rocked loosely, I caught sight of Hiei's face.

He looked utterly furious.

"Reina!" Kurama repeated, shaking me some more, as if that were going to help me any, and I flicked my gaze from Hiei's face, and frowned up at Kurama.

"Stop... shaking me," I growled blearily, pulling away from him and steadying myself on his arm, blinking rapidly to clear the haze from my vision. I let my hand slip from Kurama's elbow, balancing myself experimentally, then looked back up at his concerned face.

"I'm..." I frowned thoughtfully, furrowing my brow. "I'm... really not that tired, actually. Huh." I lifted a questioning eyebrow in Kurama's direction.

"You projected," he uttered.

"Point?"

"It was a smart move," he said, hands still lifted warily to catch me, eyes scanning my face for signs of my keeling over again. "You separated your power from hers," He inclined his head in the demoness' direction, who was eyeing us with a wide, superior smirk on her face, "and that's what saved you."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," the demon pseudo-nurse said, clapping her hands together, sarcastically, twice. "The girl had no chance against me..." She flipped her hair over her shoulder, and grinned tauntingly at me, reddish-brown eyes glinting in amusement. "To be honest, brat, you are lucky to be alive."

"Come again?" I said in a dangerously sweet voice, narrowing my eyes as I glared at the demoness, head still spinning from my stupid move.

"Both of you, shut the hell up!" Yusuke snarled, and stomped closer to the demoness. He jabbed his finger in her direction. "Give me back my team, dammit!"

"Didn't you hear the announcement, Yusuke?" The demon's lips turned up in a sadistic smirk. "They're both very sick. They're going to need a little time to recover..."

And, with an indistinguishable incantation rolling smoothly off her tongue, she waved her fingers in Hiei's and the Masked Fighter's direction.

Snakelike tendrils of her force field twined themselves tightly around Team Urameshi's two invalids, immobilizing them and dragging them further into the tent. Hiei thrashed, teeth bared in a snarl as he fought his bonds, but it didn't do any good. The Masked Fighter simply let the demon's aura hold her, eyeing us in a bored way from under her turban like mask.

"What's happening?" Yusuke and I demanded simultaneously, turning on Kurama.

He eyed us levelly. "The spell uses their own energy against them," he intoned grimly. "The more they struggle, the easier it'll be for the hex to hold them."

"Aw, _damn_ it!" Yusuke complained.

_Did you call that _sneeze_ an attack, human?_ A voice growled, in my head.

I flinched, and cut my eyes back over to the medical tent, where Hiei was glaring at me, ensnared in his threadlike chains of demonic aura.

Why_ are you talking to me, Hiei?_ I thought exasperatedly, recovering from my shock.

_To inform you how utterly pitiful your defense is. You disgust me._

_Bastard._ I narrowed my eyes at him, glaring. Hiei never brought out the best side of me… I usually wasn't one to curse. And that just made me angrier.

_My lineage is not for your speculation, fool,_ he retorted instantly, a faint defensive note to his voice, an edge that made him sound even angrier than usual. He was glaring with twice the usual venom now.

I was mentally silent for a moment, frowning thoughtfully. Overreaction, much? Or was Hiei really a—

_Shut the hell up._

_No, I don't think I will_, I argued hotly, noticing Kurama's sideways glance at me… and his warning look that was directed at Hiei. Obviously, from the unbroken eye contact that Hiei and I were sharing, he had correctly gathered that Hiei and I were having a mental conversation.

_There's a reason you invaded my mind, Hiei, and I think you're pathetic for beating around the bush,_ I thought, aggravated. _And I know why. Yukina's here. I _know _she is—I sensed her when I projected._

Hiei simply glared, and his mind was blank. I could still sense that he was holding the mental connection—it was a pressure on my consciousness, but not burning. Because I had the Barrier Stone around my neck, Yukina's evil brother couldn't scorch me from the inside out.

I shot Hiei a smirk, and waggled my fingers at him. In the corner of my eye, I saw that Kurama was shooting me a very disturbed look—obviously, he had assumed that I had lost my mind, due to the casual friendliness I was showing Hiei—and he bent down to give me company.

"Reina, what's…?"

"Hiei's sister is here," I sighed. "I'm about to go get her." I shot Hiei a look. _Don't look at me that way, _I chided. _I don't like the idea of her being separated from us. Surely you want to keep her safe…?_

_Hn_, was his simple reply.

The intercom crackled to life, and we all looked at the screen. I felt Hiei's mind fade away.

_As a result of the medical examination, Hiei and the Masked Fighter have been ruled unfit to fight. They will sit out for the duration of the round, while they are suitably treated._

Yusuke snarled every unprintable word under the sun, but I didn't even shoot a disapproving glance in his direction. I agreed with him—those 'goddamn penguinshit bastards' (as he said) were definitely pulling strings. The whole situation was rank with foul play.

"What the _HELL_ is this?" Yusuke roared, frothing at the mouth now, as he whirled around and leaped up on the ring, and advanced on Koto, hands fisted at his sides. "They're _FREAKING_ lying! And you'd better _DO_ something about it…!" Yusuke lifted a fist, and, as he did, Kurama vanished from my side, to reappear at Yusuke's, ready to restrain the irate kid if necessary.

"You have to take it up with the committee!" Koto squeaked, cowering in the face of Yusuke's wrath. "I-I'm _completely_ neutral…!"

"LIKE _HELL_ YOU ARE…!"

Kurama stepped in front of Yusuke; his lips moved, speaking words that I couldn't hear, still observing the fiasco from my grassy venue outside of the ring. As he spoke, Yusuke seemed to get a hold on himself.

Jin had been standing in the ring during all of this, I noticed with faint surprise, having almost completely forgotten about him. Next to him was a new addition, though—the tallest and most menacing member of Team Masho, by far—still cloaked in his pseudo-KKK garb.

And when he spoke, the guttural tones were easily heard, booming across the ring.

"Two against five, Jin," the figure chuckled. "You can kill them all."

Jin, to my surprise, didn't look very pleased at the prospect.

"Ah, I've 'ad a change of mind," he drawled, voice carrying over to me, digging his pinkie into one of his long, pointed ears. "If it's gonna be a fix lik tha'…"

He sighed, brow furrowing in uncharacteristic annoyance. He then turned, and started to walk over the ring, shooting back over his shoulder:

"I don' give a damn. Somebody else go," Jin grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets, stomping off the ring. He shot a glance in my direction; he almost looked annoyed. I wondered why.

Before Jin could go any further, his cloaked companion shot out a muscled arm and took Jin's shoulder in a steely, clawed grasp.

"It wouldn't be wise to think you could disrupt the sect _this time_," The figure snarled.

Though I couldn't see his face, I could tell, just by the sound of his voice, that Jin was pissed.

"Don' yeh _ever_ put yer gritty hands on me again," he growled, taking the figure's massive wrist in his large hand, and twisting it backwards, removing it from his shoulder.

And he turned, and leaped off the ring.

"Alright, enough chitchat," Koto said into her microphone, as the figure that Jin had just told off stormed off to the opposite side of the ring, and bent down to talk with his comrades. "Team Urameshi, Team Masho—send in your fighters for the next match."

I was torn. Go find Yukina, who was probably wandering somewhere outside the arena, looking for us, (probably having scented our group) or stay, and watch the next match…?

One of the figures from Team Masho stepped up onto the ring, casting off his cloak.

His head was wrapped in a lime green bandanna, chest bare, only wearing a skirt like ensemble that was belted around his waist. His skin had a bluish-greenish tint.

"Team Masho's choice… Gama, the Master of Disguise," Koto proclaimed. In response, a great deal of the demonic audience started cheering.

But should I watch this fight…? The demons that hadn't managed to get tickets would be standing outside the arena, where Yukina was… and I worried for my friend…

Kurama stepped forward.

"And from Team Urameshi, Kurama!" Koto announced.

And I turned, and headed for the exit.

* * *

Here's a truth—I'm a coward.

As soon as Kurama had stepped forward to take the fight, I had remembered, with not much fondness, what had happened last time. When Kurama had fought Roto.

Kurama had taken every blow with passive silence, because his mother's life was at stake. And I knew that this time, he would act no differently. With only Yusuke and himself fighting for Team Urameshi, the stakes were just as high. To win was to survive. I knew Kurama… and I knew that he would wait, bide his time, measure his opponent's power, and then attack.

…But by then, it might be too late.

I remembered the look on his face—impassive, cold like stone- and I shuddered at the memory. When he looked like that… he looked like a demon. And that was frightening.

And it was also incredibly painful for me to see him suffering, though he didn't make his pain known.

So, instead of staying and supporting Team Urameshi, I had scuttled out the door as soon as Kurama stepped up to fight. Like the coward that I am.

I sighed and turned a corner, blinking as I neared the outside of the arena, the sunlight blinding me after the semi-dark stretch of hallway.

Several demons glanced in my direction, but did nothing more except leer. I ignored them and walked further, nearing the edge of the forest, and paused.

I wondered where Yukina would be.

I mean, sure—I had sensed her, but I was a tad bit preoccupied when I did. Near death experiences have a tendency to become distractions. So… I didn't know _where_ she was, just that she was somewhere on Hanging Neck Island. Somewhere.

I took a few more strides forward, walking into the shade of the forest, and glanced back at the group of demons I had passed. They were walking away—around the arena, I supposed, to try to get a glimpse of the fight on one of the many TV screens that were bolted to the side of the arena, screens that had a live feed of the battle…

I shook off that thought, annoyed, that here, even, I couldn't escape from those nightmarish images. They were out to get me.

Sighing heavily, I walked further into the forest, my sneakered feet shuffling across the grassy surface of the trail that wound through the dense growth, connecting the hotel to the arena. It was about five miles of walking—and Botan, Shizuru, Keiko and I had walked the entire way here with the guys, this morning.

As I thought idly about that, I felt a slight tugging sensation around my midriff. And when I looked down, to see what it was, I swore. Loudly.

The lining of my hoodie pocket was hanging out, limply, and I knew why.

My pocket had just been _picked_.

_Dammit dammit dammit DAMMIT…!_

What had been inside the said pocket was the source of my fury. It had been an envelope. That Koenma had given me. Right as we walked into the stadium.

"_What is it?" I asked curiously, taking the envelope from the teenaged lord of the underworld and eyeing it speculatively._

"_Obviously, you girls weren't checked as you came in… but they're your tickets. If you leave the arena, just flash it at the guard, and he'll let you back in," Koenma said, shooting me a smile that I guessed was supposed to be flirtatious. "But if you don't have them… I'm afraid you'll be stuck outside…"_

Stuck. Outside.

God… _Damnit_...

"Reina?"

I looked up in shocked recognition, as the blue-haired, kind-hearted koorime picked her way hesitantly up the path, eyeing my face almost nervously, as if approaching an insane person.

I forgot my anger for a brief moment, and gasped, a wide grin blooming on my face.

"_Yukina_! Hey, I was looking for you…!"

At my ecstatic greeting, a smile appeared on her face, and she darted forwards, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck and choking the life out of me.

"Oh, I missed you so much, Reina! I didn't know you were here…" Yukina lifted her face, to give me an inquisitive look that was almost—but not quite—a frown.

"Your aura…"

Then, as the realization dawned on her; Yukina's smile returned. "You learned how to control it! That's wonderful…!"

"Um, no, actually…" I admitted with a sheepish look, and Yukina released the stranglehold she had around my neck, eyeing me nervously. I rubbed my throat with a thankful glance in her direction, and then began to explain.

"I use this…" I stopped rubbing my neck (which would probably be bruised later from Yukina's happy embrace) and pulled the Barrier Stone out from under my sweater, letting it dangle from my fingers. "To control my power. I've never been one for natural talent, as you know…"

Yukina smiled demurely in response, agreeing with me. I suppressed the urge to laugh.

"But… nevermind that," I said, waving my hand dismissively. "How did you find me? And… why are you here?" I frowned in a concerned way. "I seem to remember hearing that the trip from Makai to Ningenkai is not exactly pleasant…"

"Oh, I heard you cursing," Yukina said brightly, and I cringed inwardly, ashamed, in Yukina's presence, of my less than ladylike ways.

"And I'm here… because…" Yukina glanced about us, almost searchingly, "Well… I heard that… I have a brother."

I gaped; Yukina wasn't looking at me though, her eyes were downcast, voice almost wondering, awed.

"I heard that he was a skilled martial artist, so I was thinking that he would be here… and I'm allowed to stay in the Human World for a little while, to look for him." Yukina looked back up, and I wrestled my expression into one that looked curious.

"So you have a brother, huh?" I mused with false intrigue, tapping my temple thoughtfully. "Well… I wish I could help you, but in the rounds I've seen so far, no one's fought with an aura quite like yours. I would've sensed it," I lied, rambling, a mental picture of Hiei's face popping up in my head. His face was cool, collected, but his eyes burned with a sentiment that few had seen, and fewer had lived to tell about. The memory came with its own threatening dialogue:

"_If you say anything, I will _incinerate_you."_

"Hehe…"

"Reina? What's so funny…?"

"Oh, nothing, Yukina…!"

* * *

"So… you're locked outside?" Yukina asked, blinking sympathetically up at me. "I'm sorry…"

I had just explained to her why I had been cursing when she had found me. The stupid pickpocket had taken _all_ of the tickets, even Shizuru's, Botan's, and Keiko's. I prayed that they wouldn't come out of the arena; they would be just as hopelessly stuck as I was.

I had also asked Yukina to tell me about her trip; she and I exchanged stories about the last few months that we had been separated. I had forgotten how easy it was to talk to Yukina; while we hadn't actually noticed, nearly an hour had passed while she and I had chatted about the boys' many exploits.

Though, there were visible markers of the time passing, of the battles being fought.

While I had been in exile from my own absentmindedness, the entire stadium had filled up and over with a strange mist, a solid wall of ice had risen from the arena, and gale-force winds (probably Jin) had howled up over the ring, blowing out to us, even, as we sat on the outskirts of the forest, captivated and wondering desperately how the boys were doing in their fights.

Now, I sort of regretted my decision to leave. But it was also sort of worth seeing my friend again.

"Yeah, I'm stuck out here," I sighed in answer to her query. "But… it's okay. They have videos of the match on some screens around here…" I waved vaguely in the direction of the arena; Yukina and I were sitting on a fallen log at the edge of the forest.

Yukina stood. I stared.

"Well, we can't give up!" she said cheerily, reaching down and taking my gloved hand, pulling me to my feet with surprising strength. "Maybe someone's selling tickets—I have some money…"

"Oh, don't—" I started to protest, but she was pulling me along behind her, ignoring my words.

We circled the arena halfway, and were promptly greeted by the sight of a group of demons hanging out at the entrance, watching the screen above them with rabid devotion.

Letting go of my hand, Yukina walked up to a pair of demons, who both turned around to look at her.

"Lookit what we have here…" One of them drawled, grinning down at Yukina in a way that made me sprint to her side, clutching the Barrier Stone in case I had to cast it off and attack. "What's yer name, princess…?"

"My name is Yukina," the koorime replied politely, bowing respectfully to the demon. "I'm from the Ice World."

And, as if to prove her point, a freezing wind chafed past us, making the demons, and me, shiver. They backed off a wary step. Yukina smiled gently up at them.

"Do you know where I can find a ticket booth for the Tournament?"

"_Sure_, sister! Like it hasn't been sold out for a _week_!" The demon said sarcastically, nervous expression giving way to angry frustration, as he whirled and gave the arena a rude gesture with his hand.

"Yeah!" his companion agreed, glowering at the arena. "I paid a guy to get me a ticket… that stupid bastard's probably sittin' in the stands right now…"

"Oh…" Yukina said sadly. She looked up at me. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be," I assured her quickly, waving my hands. "It's my own fault I'm out here, don't blame yourself…" I looked around to find something else to talk about, and my eyes fell on the gigantic screen, which took up a good twenty feet of space above the entrance. "Look, what did I tell you? We can watch the rest of the round, right here…"

"Will the last member of Team Masho enter the ring?" Koto prompted, voice fuzzy as it boomed out of the speakers mounted on either side of the screen.

The picture shifted; a robe-clad fighter loomed up on the screen, and a good deal of the mob of demons let out guttural yells, such as:

"YEAH! _KILL _URAMESHI…!"

"TEAR OUT HIS _LIVER_!"

"They are… very supportive…" Yukina noted, burgundy gaze widened as she stared at the mob. It was hard to imagine her as a demon—she was too kind to be one. Like Kurama…

I looked back at the screen, searching the picture for any sign of the fox demon. The image had changed again, now focused on Koto.

"This is the final round—and it decides the victory!" She announced, pointed fox ears twitching in anticipation, microphone lifted to her lips. "Get ready, set…"

_Ding-dong-DING._

"Oh _no_," I groaned, as the cheesy intro boomed over the speakers. "Not the Committee _again_…"

"What does that mean?" Yukina asked worriedly, flicking her gaze from the screen to look at me.

"Nothing good, I'm afraid. Not for our team, at least…" I glanced down at Yukina, frowning unhappily. "The Committee is completely corrupted—extremely biased. You should've seen what stunts they've pulled in this round…"

_Stop this fight immediately,_ The female voice of the Tournament Committee ordered.

Yukina and I waited in breathless, anxious silence.

"Um…" Koto's face flashed onto the screen, it was uplifted, and looking up into the Committee's boxed in, VIP venue. "Please explain why…?"

The image flashed; it focused on the Committee's box, though you couldn't see anything—the windows were heavily tinted, the figures behind the glass only smudges, mere shadows.

_Upon reviewing the film of the last fight, it has been discovered that Koto delayed her ten-count significantly during Yusuke's first ring-out. _

"Since when do we pay attention to that?" Koto's voice complained, but the cameras didn't even swivel in her direction; they stayed focused on the Tournament Committee's box.

_Therefore, by complete and unanimous decision…_

Not good.

…_the fight between Yusuke and Jin has been ruled a double loss. And Yusuke has been ruled ineligible to fight for the duration of this round._

"No!" I protested, voice drowned out by the appreciative cheers of the demonic crowd in front of Yukina and I. "They can't _do_ that! They _can't_…!"

"It's awful…" Yukina said, both hands over her heart, staring up at the screen.

"Alright," I said, turning away from the screen; I didn't want to look at the Committee any longer. "Let's see… Hiei and the Fighter are out, Yusuke's out, Kuwabara's hurt, and I'm willing to bet that Kurama is too…"

"Kazuma's injured?" Yukina gasped, and I instantly regretted having said that out loud. "How? When…?"

"In the last round," I answered her unwillingly, scrambling for words of comfort as her mouth popped open in horror. "It's nothing life-threatening, Yukina, don't worry—he's just not fit to fight." I chanced a glance back at the screen, which was now flicking between the face of Team Masho's uncloaked fighter, who was smirking widely, Yusuke's face, which was screwed up in rage, and the Committee box.

"And Kurama probably isn't, either," I finished softly. "And, what's more… those are the only two that can fight."

"Hey, kiddo. Copped out on us, didn't you?"

I whirled to see Shizuru, looking down on me with a smirk, arms crossed.

Oh crap. Well… she wasn't getting back in.

"Not… exactly… Shizuru—"

"Hey, before you start blabbering, let me ask your friend a question," Shizuru said offhandedly, and smiled down at Yukina. "Your name is Yukina, isn't it…?"

The ice maiden looked surprised. "Yes, I am… " Yukina glanced up at me, and I gave her a reassuring nod. She looked back up at Shizuru. "I'm sorry… do I know you?"

"Not yet," Shizuru answered with a grin. "But… I have a kid brother who won't shut up about you."

It seemed to click; Yukina gave Shizuru a surprised sort of smile. "Oh! Then you must be Kazuma's older sister!"

"That's the one."

"Um… Shizuru…" I cringed when she looked at me—this was going to be difficult to admit.

"You know… those tickets that Koenma gave me…"

"Yeah," Shizuru said, looking slightly surprised. "Hey, I hope you still have them—I gotta get back in the stadium."

I sighed heavily. "Well, here's the thing…"

* * *

And so I explained the loss of our tickets. Shizuru was pissed, naturally, but thankfully not at me. That had been my greatest fear, as I had told her. Having a Kuwabara mad at you was usually not healthy.

I asked her for news of Kurama and Kuwabara's statuses, and it was just as I had feared. Kurama had actually gone as far as to inflict injuries on himself, to win a match against Team Masho's Ice Master, Touya. He had won, and then a demon named Bakken had beaten him, while he was unconscious.

I was glad I missed all of that; the news of Kurama's pain was bad enough as it was, even without having to see it for myself.

And, to my horror, Shizuru had sent Keiko to find Botan, to bring her out of the stadium. Upon realizing that that action would trap her outside, Shizuru, Yukina and I rushed to stop her, but it was already too late.

And so, unable to do anything else, we walked out to a pile of boulders on the edge of the forest and Yukina told the others why she was here.

Botan had a quiet, nervous fit at the mention of Yukina's knowing that she had an older brother, but Shizuru and I were able to discreetly calm her down before Yukina could notice anything.

Then, suddenly, Yukina looked up, and gasped.

"Oh no! It's Kazuma…!"

We all whirled to look at the screen, which was filled with an image of Kuwabara's face. His expression was strained; beads of sweat were pouring down his face, and his mouth was turned down into a grimace of pain.

"He's not in the ring, is he?" Keiko gasped.

As one, our group leaped to our feet, and dashed up the stairs leading to the platform, where all the demons were jeering at Kuwabara's pixilated face. We had to stop short—the group of demons was a living wall, blocking our view.

"Omigosh, I forgot to tell you," Botan said, jumping in place, turning on Keiko and Shizuru. "The Committee disqualified Yusuke, and Kuwabara went in so our team didn't have to forfeit and he's still hurt and I don't know how he's going to survive…"

"Isn't there any way to get closer…?" Yukina asked, standing on tiptoe, eyes widened with worry as she tried to peer over the demons' backs.

Without a word, Shizuru strode closer to the demons, and tapped two on their shoulders.

"Excuse me, boys…"

And the eldest Kuwabara, living up to her name, and the many stereotypes applied to it, knocked one of the demons out cold with her fist, whirling around to belt the other as he turned, snarling, on her.

She made short work of the group, and, as they stumbled to their feet for a second round, she snarled in the most menacing voice that I had ever heard:

"Step aside or experience _SERIOUS PAIN_!"

To prove her point, she drew back her fist, and the whole of the demonic crowd flinched, and cleared a path.

Our company moved up to stand next to Shizuru, and we peered anxiously up at the screen.

"What _fantastic_ will," Koto was saying; the camera was still focused on Kuwabara's face. "The visibly hammered fighter has limped into the ring, preventing his team's elimination! But can this haggard boy _possibly_ hope to compete against Team Masho's leader…?" The image flicked over to the leader's face—it was pale white, eyes shrewd, a smirk on his thin features.

"Fighters, please report to the center!"

And the image flashed again, zooming out to capture both Team Masho's leader and Kuwabara on the screen. The tall demon walked forward and stood on his side of Koto's outstretched arm, but Kuwabara, as he tried to advance, stumbled and fell. I held my breath as he struggled to his feet.

"Well, this isn't going to be a long fight…" Koto's voice said, as the picture focused on Kuwabara's pained expression.

"Oh, _shut up_, Koto!" Botan and I yelled simultaneously, and exchanged glances.

"She's so unsupportive," we growled, in agreement.

"I know!" We said, in unison, and glared back up at the screen.

Kuwabara limped forward, and finally made it to the center of the ring.

"Final fight and for the win!" Koto said, as the camera zoomed in closer, filling the screen with images of the two opponents. "Kuwabara against Risho… begin!"

Immediately, Kuwabara lunged forward, right arm lifted away from his body in a familiar pose…

His energy condensed in his hand, orange, flame like…

And disappeared.

And he was flying.

We watched, aghast, as Kuwabara faceplanted once, twice, three times before rolling to a stop, mouth opened in a wordless howl of agony, face contorted with the potency of his pain.

"We _have_ to get in there!" Botan cried, and grabbed my arm, towing me off to the entrance.

"But we can't…!"

She tugged me over to the gate, where the guard (who was a grossly overweight demon, wearing a wife beater's shirt) grinned down at us with yellowed teeth and held out his paunchy hand.

"Tickets, girly."

"_Please_," Botan begged, releasing my arm and clasping her hands in front of her. "We _have_ to get in there—our friend is dying…!"

"No tickets, no entry," the demon said, smirking.

"How about… we get in, or you die. Slowly," Shizuru said grimly, coming up behind Botan and I, massaging her knuckles in a menacing way. She was taking persuasion to extremes lately.

The demonic guard, unperturbed, held out his meaty hands and said, "I'd like to see you try."

And, to that end, Shizuru launched several punches at the demon's face, but he shot up his hands to block them, taking Shizuru's arms in a steely grasp, lifting her into the air, and effectively removing her from the premises. She flew through the air, over the stairs, and came to a rolling stop in the grass, as the demonic crowd (now clustered back in front of the movie screen) howled with derisive laughter.

I turned on the demon, who grinned down at me and jerked his sausage-like fingers in a "come hither" gesture.

"_Nobody_ messes with my friends," I snarled, grabbing the Barrier Stone and contemplating on just how to incapacitate the demon—explode an orb of my energy in his face, or project it inside him and _then_ let it explode…?

"Oooohh, scary." The demon leered.

"You're going to _regret_—"

But, as I lifted my arm, preparing to yank the Barrier Stone over my head, a small hand took hold of my elbow. I turned to see wide, red eyes staring into mine.

"Please don't, Reina," Yukina pleaded. "We just found a vendor… he has tickets…"

We stared at each other for a moment, then I let my arm drop. "Alright." I shot another glare at the gatekeeper, and he leered at me.

I followed Yukina down the stairs, to where Shizuru, Keiko, and Botan were talking to a short, lizard-like demon, who looked vaguely familiar…

Oh yeah. It was the demon who had been tailing Lord Koenma when we first got here…

And, in his long, clawed, fingers, he was waving around a very familiar-looking envelope.

I froze, watching the paper pouch wave through the air, then felt a vindictive smile creep onto my features.

"Reina…" Yukina had noticed the evil grin on my face, and took a precautionary step back, eyeing me warily.

And I stepped up to the demon, and plucked the envelope from his fingers.

"Hey!" the demon cried out, turning on me. "Wha—?"

Then his eyes widened, pupils narrowing into slits of fearful recognition, as I smirked down at him.

"Now, you really shouldn't try to sell things to the people you stole them from… it's not very smart," I chided in a dangerously sweet voice, popping open the envelope and distributing the tickets (to my surprise, there was one in there for Yukina, with her name written on it in Jorge's clumsy scrawl—apparently, Koenma had known that she was coming to the Dark Tournament) to my friends, holding one for myself.

The demon gaped.

"This is your chance to escape," I hinted, fingering the Barrier Stone menacingly.

The demon scampered out of sight.

* * *

"What do you mean we can't get in?" Botan cried. "We have five perfectly good tickets—"

"I see four girls come out; now five want to go in. No re-admittance," The demon guard sneered. Then, a wide grin flashed across his lumpy features, and he eyed Yukina in a way that made my stomach turn.

"Unless you got something to offer…"

"In your dreams, tubby," Botan growled.

Ignoring her, the demon guard leaned away from Yukina and surveyed us all with his piggy eyes. "You ain't no millionaire party, but I think we can work something out…"

Then he leaned into Keiko's personal space, taking her shoulder in a green-hued, clawed hand.

"A little human girl like you's got plenty to offer…"

With a disgusted shriek, Keiko jerked her hand back, and slapped the demon senseless.

With the force of Keiko's blazing rejection, he flew, hollering, down the flight of stairs, and came to a rolling stop in the grass…

Where Shizuru calmly commenced to grind her heel into his face, kicking the demon while he was down.

"Well," Botan said cheerily, linking her arms with mine and Yukina's. "Let's get going, shall we…?"

As she pulled us through the gate, Yukina glanced back at the demon (who was now unconscious, being kicked bloody by Shizuru). "Is this… alright…?"

"Oh, of course it is," Botan lied breezily, turning to look back at Shizuru (who was currently working on breaking every one of the demon's ribs) and Keiko, who was rubbing her hand, grimacing as it turned red from the aftermath of her latest slap.

Then, a whistle sounded out, piercing and shrill.

Botan, Yukina, and I exchanged one fleeting look.

"SHIZURU, WE'RE GOING TO RUN FROM SECURITY NOW…!" Botan cried shrilly, releasing Yukina and I and spinning around, hurling her legs into a sprint. Yukina and I darted after her. As Shizuru and Keiko joined us, Keiko and I brought up the rear, both being the shortest members of our group, and not having demonic stamina on our side.

"Fun stuff, right?" I asked Keiko, grinning as we slid around a corner, hearing many footfalls behind us.

And Keiko actually smirked, surprising me. "Definitely."

We both had a change of tune, when the four demonic security guards caught up with us.

They cornered us against a wall, which, mercifully, had a large divided screen on it, with a live feed of Kuwabara's battle.

"Three…"

Koto was starting a ten-count.

We all stared at the monitor, ignoring the guards for the moment, as our friend twitched, moving…

And rose to his feet.

"Oh, wow!" Koto said gleefully (anything for more gore, that stupid demonic twit), as the camera zoomed in on Kuwabara's battered and bloody features. "Kuwabara's actually climbing to his feet! We've still got a fight on our hands…!"

"He's in pain…" Yukina murmured, eyes wide and innocently concerned on Kuwabara's pixilated face, as she took a step forward, and touched the screen. As if she could heal him through the image.

Botan whirled about to face a pair of the reptilian, demonic guards, in an empathic fit at Yukina's obvious pain.

"Please, I'm begging you! _Please_ let us go—our friend is _dying_…!" She pleaded.

"No chance," the demon hissed, with a fanged grin. "You're all under arrest for illegal entry, and the assault of an extremely honorable employee…"

"You mean that _pervert_?" Botan cried indignantly.

"They're hostile!" the demon's companion observed, eyes glinting with anticipation as he leaned closer to Botan and I, looking between us with a wide smirk. "I say we take them down for some demon-style _interrogation_…"

"Oh, _shut it_!" I yelled exasperatedly, pulling a Shizuru and landing a punch on the end of the demon's nose. He howled in pain, and fell writhing to the ground, blood spurting out from under his clawed fingers in a wide, glistening arc.

At the same time, Botan took care of the second guard, kneeing him in his nether-regions, and she grabbed Yukina's hand as she began running, calling out behind her: "Time to go, girls…!"

I took off behind Keiko, but stumbled to a halt when I realized that we were missing one of our group.

"Shizuru!" I cried, aghast, as I saw that she was being held immobile by the other two guards.

"Go!" She called back, straining vainly against her captors. "I'll be fine—go!"

Unwillingly, I obeyed, putting on a burst of speed as I heard the two guards that Botan and I had taken out scrambling to their feet, a rasp of scale on tile.

I caught up with the rest of our group, passing Keiko and coming level with Botan and Yukina.

We skidded around a corner, and almost instantly slid to a halt.

In front of us, blocking our path, was Toguro.

I knew him instantly, though only seeing him once before—when Yusuke, Kuwabara, Botan and I had gone to save Yukina. I had been half unconscious at the time, but his face was a hard one to forget…

I glanced swiftly at my friends' faces and set my teeth, stepping in front of Botan, who was at the head of the group, my hand rising to close around the Barrier Stone. Naturally, I knew that I had no chance against this Toguro… even if his brother wasn't present…

…But something in Yukina's eyes made cowering behind the group altogether impossible; I had to protect them.

Toguro and I stared at each other for a single moment that felt like forever, my heart hammering frantically in my chest, and I wondered when he would reach out, and mercilessly kill us all.

And then he spoke.

"It's not me you need to be worried about… Reina."

I started slightly at the sound of my name—it was strange, hearing it come from the mouth of Team Urameshi's number one nemesis.

_That's exactly what Ryo told me,_ I thought, feeling cold.

I recovered from my shock, and felt my eyes narrow, as my hands clenched into tense, automatic fists. The fingers clutching the Barrier Stone stung.

"But you make it sound like… there _is_ someone I should be worried about," I pointed out, making my voice cool, level, not wanting to betray the fear that turned my veins to ice. "Who? What do you know?"

Toguro tilted his head slightly to the side, eyeing me speculatively. His sunglasses flashed in the dull fluorescent light.

"It's not my business."

Another eternal moment, as I worked around the terror numbing my thoughts, wondering about his cryptic, enigmatic statements.

"Run along."

Our group exchanged nervous, disbelieving glances. I looked back up at Toguro, and opened my mouth to ask him again—if I needed to worry about someone, I _had_ to know _who_ to worry about…

But Botan took my elbow, and tugged me away, with a whispered, "Come _on_…"

We ran silently and quickly, bursting into the blazing sunlight of the stadium in less than a minute.

* * *

Somehow, Kuwabara's fight ended with him being the victor.

It only took the utterance of his name (courtesy of Yukina) to make him power up his energy again, an automatic tactic to save his manly ego from a devastating blow. If Yukina had seen him lose, he would've never recovered.

Though, admittedly, he seemed to be the worse for wear at the end of the battle—bloody, bruised—but he was able to grin widely upon seeing Yukina's face, and was able to talk to her excitedly about his training, the last match—everything she had missed.

Yusuke, the Masked Fighter, and Hiei were all perfectly healthy. Hiei was a surprising one—apparently, the demoness' force field had a healing effect on his arm, curing it completely of its last usage.

Kurama was probably the most severely wounded of the team, but he put on a brave face when I leaped over the barrier wall (with the help of Botan) to see how he was doing.

"It's nothing, really," he said, after I had asked about the greenery blooming from his skin. "This isn't the Death Plant… it's a different one. A curative herb that I implanted, after I disentangled the other one."

"So you got the deadly, flesh-eating, parasitic flower out of you already, hm?" I asked with a thin attempt at humor, quirking my lips up into a small half-smile.

Kurama grinned, and brushed a hand over his mouth, rubbing away a spot of dried blood that was on his chin. "Naturally." Then, as his smile faded slightly, he looked up, eyes unfocused as he listened to something that I couldn't hear. Then he sighed, grimacing.

"What…?" I asked hesitantly, hands fluttering uselessly over his wounds, trying to help. "Does it hurt…?"

"No, of course not—these will be healed in no time," he murmured, and glanced back over at me, frowning. "But your Shinobi… acquaintance is calling your name… he's on the other side of the ring, and he wants to talk to you."

"Oh," I said, and looked in that direction, rising from where I had been sitting next to Kurama. Jin, sitting against the Barrier Wall on the opposite side of the arena, saw me looking and waved, wincing visibly as he did so, and let his arm drop. I looked back down at Kurama, uncertain. The rest of the team had reacted so suspiciously…

He smiled, understanding, and said, "Go on. It's alright... Yusuke and Jin are friends—of a sort—now."

"You focus on getting better, okay?" I said sternly, quirking a small smile.

He nodded and waved me off with a smile of his own.

"Oi, Reina," Jin said as I came up next to him, peering up at me blearily and trying to grin. "Tha' lil' friend o' yours… Yusuke… packs a nasty lil' punch, tha' he does…"

"Hey, Jin." I sat down next to the red-headed demon, and crossed my ankles. "How're you holding up?"

"Ah, it ain't nothin'," he chuckled, an attempt at bravado. When he laughed, he grimaced from the pain.

"Well, just so you know…" I said, smirking, "no hard feelings, right?"

Jin grinned. "Aye. If there was ever a chance ah wanted t' take back a promise…." And he winced. "Eh, jokin'. Twas a good fight."

"I do apologize for Yusuke's ass-kicking, though," I said with a small, amused smile. "Thankfully, I've never been on the receiving end of his fist… but I can just imagine what it must've felt like. You're a mess."

"Thankee', Reina. Givin' my ego a boost, ya are," Jin grumbled sarcastically, but there was a fanged grin on his face.

"Um… Reina?"

I looked up, into Botan's worried face.

"Yeah? What's up, Botan?" I frowned confusedly at her concerned expression, and automatically glanced back across the ring, to where Kurama was now standing, leaning lightly against the Barrier Wall. He was getting better, I noted with relief, so that couldn't be the source of Botan's discomfort…

Botan shifted her weight nervously from one foot to the other, wringing her hands anxiously. "Can I talk to you?" Her eyes flicked pointedly to Jin. "Alone…?" She pressed.

"Sure." I stood, and followed Botan off a ways, wondering why she was acting so uneasy.

She then turned, and gave me a long, apprehensive look.

"What…?" I said, irritated, but regretted it and made my voice a little kinder. "Botan…?"

"I don't… I don't think that you should go see Ryo," she said hesitantly, bothered amethyst eyes peering into mine, imploringly.

"Oh," I said, surprised. I had all but forgotten the meeting with the boy. "Why?"

"Toguro said…" Botan reminded me fretfully, "he said that you should be worried about _someone_, and, well…" she seemed to be choosing her words carefully, "you don't have to be worried about _us_, and Ryo…"

_But… Ryo said the same thing, that I shouldn't be worried about _him_ though..._

I shook off my thoughts as Botan continued:

"I just don't want you to get hurt. Ryo's dangerous…"

I looked up at that, and laughed once, surprised. "No, I think you're wrong about that, Botan," I said, amused now, waving a hand. "Ryo's an idiot, but he is _not_ dangerous."

"Reina." Botan's voice was serious now, laden with a heavy threat. "If you're telling me that you're going to go talk to that boy, I'm going to tell Kurama." She eyed me warily, anticipating my reaction, as my mouth popped open in horror, but continued to lay down the law. "We all know just how fond Kurama is of Ryo…"

Now, if she hadn't said that, maybe I wouldn't have just made up my mind… to do the exact opposite of what she was asking of me. Kurama _could_ stop me if he wanted to… but I wasn't going to let him boss me around.

I held up my hands as if warding off a blow, chuckling. "No need to involve our favorite fox demon, Botan. Seriously. I _do_ think you're wrong…" I made my tone amused, and looked up at her with a small smile, "but I never intended to go see Ryo. What do I owe him?"

The latter statement had some truth—after all, what _did_ I owe that boy? But now, curiosity piqued again by the mention of him, my said intentions were definitely a lie. I fully intended to talk to Ryo. I had to know what was going on.

"Oh," Botan said, clearly relieved. "Well… that's great. Come on, let's talk to Master Mitamura and his students…" she gestured over to where the old man, surrounded by the girls and his pupils, were standing, and tugged on my arm.

Beyond that, Team Urameshi was walking out the exit.

"Ah… no, Botan. I'm just going to go back to the hotel, alright?" I gently slipped my elbow from her grasp. "With the guys. Kuwabara's bravado isn't going to help wrap his wounds, you know…"

"Oh, I'll help you!" Botan said brightly.

I cursed inwardly, but smiled. "Don't worry about it—go talk to Mitamura and his boys. Mingle. Have fun. After all…" I rolled my eyes, "I was with Kurama and Hiei while they trained Kuwabara, so I know a thing or two about Band-Aids and peroxide…"

"Good point," Botan agreed, and started backing off to the group, smiling at my joke. "Well… see you later, then. We're going to help the boys get their master on a boat back to the mainland."

"You do that," I said brightly, and backed off in the other direction, towards the exit, where Team Urameshi had just vanished. I glanced over at Jin.

"Feh," he said, grinning. "With yeh leavin' there's no point in stayin'. I'm gonna go," he said, and, with that said, gusted a breath of wind underneath him, rising into the air. "See ya around, Reina!"

And he flew off, out of sight.

Well, now my alibi would be safe, without Jin staying behind as a witness.

* * *

An hour later, I was annoyed.

After feigning my leaving with Team Urameshi, for Botan's benefit, I had hidden in one of the medical alcoves for the girls, Master Mitamura, and his students to leave. That had not been a long wait; Botan was true to her word, and they left to go find a source of transportation for the master and his pupils to leave the island. When they had left, I had emerged from my hiding place, and walked up into the abandoned stands, pacing while I waited.

But…

It would only be a matter of time before the others met up, figured out that I was not, in fact, with either group, and doubled back to claim me. By now, Kurama would be almost completely healed from his fights, and well up to the task. My time with Ryo was running out, and he wasn't even here yet. If he didn't arrive soon, then I wouldn't be able to talk to him.

I ceased pacing and frowned to myself, thinking.

Why _should_ I care, really, about Ryo? Sure he had been acting... enigmatic, which was puzzling in itself (because Ryo simply didn't act that way), but why should I risk a lecture from Botan or Kurama, for his sake...?

Why, indeed? My frown deepened as I realized that I couldn't answer my own questions.

I thought back to our bizarre encounter, trying to justify my staying here. It was a gut instinct to stay rooted to the spot—some obscure sentiment was what held me here, and I didn't exactly know what it was. But it was troubling.

His face...

It loomed up into the forefront of my mind; the memory was hazy, uncertain, but real. The... fear, the anxiety on his features had been very real. And very worrisome.

_Trying to tell me something, but couldn't,_ I reminded myself, quoting my own thoughts, my own musings from only a few hours ago. _Oh Ryo, what have you gotten yourself into now…?_

I continued pacing back and forth along the railing, my fingers tracing the metal. The minutes ticked by, but still—I waited. I couldn't make myself leave. I wished I could say I stayed for a good reason. For curiosity's sake, even. But not _worry_. Worry for the boy who had almost gotten me killed, who had betrayed me, who was simply _annoying_.

But still, I stayed, and as the sun sank lower, my heart did the same. Sighing heavily, I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the railing, and my chin on my hands. I would stay here until someone came looking for me.

"Looking for someone?"

The voice was silky, smooth like glass, and it sent sharp spikes of fear running down my spine. I whirled as dread seeped into my veins—

—Because, as I spun around to face him, and saw the evil in his eyes, I was instantly aware of two things:

Ryo wasn't coming.

And this was not going to end well.

He loomed over me, violet eyes glittering with malice, gray mask obscuring the triumphant, thin-lipped smile that I knew was present on his features. And as he assessed my reaction—eyes crinkling in sinister amusement—I felt my blood run cold.

I felt my heart race frantically in my chest, and heard the gasp that escaped my lips, dragging air into my lungs. And I felt the adrenaline rush into my veins, preparing for the worst.

I was frozen in terror, paralyzed... but I felt my lips move as I said his name.

"Karasu."

* * *

**CLIFFHANGER! MUHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Oh, dear! What does Karasu want with Reina? What the heck has Ryo gotten her into now?**

**Review, and you might find out. :3**


	21. The Darkest Shadow

**Many thanks to _RandomCitizen_, _Takara Rose Oizumi_, _Wolf-Maiden Mitsuki_, _Oakensheild_, and _Anon_ for reviewing! :D**

**Oh, and don't kill me... I have a feeling that you're all going to hate me after I post this... **

**CHARACTER DEATH WARNING.**

* * *

_"This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper."_

_T.S. Eliot_

The Darkest Shadow

* * *

"Karasu," I repeated, and took an automatic step backwards.

He tilted his head slightly to one side, surveying me with a sinister, disturbing gaze. And he followed me as I retreated, gliding forward with menacing grace.

"What do you _want_?" I asked forcefully, fearfully, as he loomed closer. I stumbled as I retreated backwards down the steps.

His eyes crinkled in amusement as I fell backwards, catching myself on the railing. But he stopped advancing. Warily, I came to a stop, knowing that I wouldn't make it down the stairs in one piece.

"Clumsy, silly Reina…" he murmured, eyes glinting. "You know it's useless to run…"

"Maybe," I said, eyeing him carefully. "But what I _don't_ know is what you want, or what you're doing here," I said, and my voice quivered. "But _stay away from me_…"

He chuckled at that, staring at me with those piercing, violet eyes. "Why are you so hostile, Reina?" He took another step forward, eyes taunting, following me as I cringed away. "Are you afraid…?"

I was silent on that one. My muteness was as good as an answer; he laughed again and took another step forward.

"Good. You should be."

I shuddered at his voice; menacingly friendly, cool and genial. The voice of a madman. A killer.

"What do you want with me?" I whispered.

Karasu seemed amused at my breathless query, the crinkles beneath his eyes deepened as he smiled coldly at me.

"Oh, nothing from _you_, Reina." His eyes burned into mine. "Just from your dear… Kurama."

I froze at that, and eyed him suspiciously.

"I don't… understand," I said hesitantly.

Karasu laughed again. "Well, I'm afraid your little cover-up is not going to buy us time for a long explanation, Reina, so I'll make it short.

"After all, I have a little business to attend to here, and I'd rather not leave until it's completed." He took another step forward, but his gaze held mine and I was frozen on the spot, unable to flinch away.

"Simply put… Kurama has been lying to you, ever since you've met him, I'm assuming."

The claim unfroze my limbs, and I was able to stumble backwards again, voice sharp and disbelieving.

"What makes you say that?" My eyes narrowed, and despite the creeping fear that told me that something here was very, very wrong, I felt a surge of irritation, welling up under the fear. "Not that I believe you, because Kurama isn't a liar…"

"You certainly hold him in high esteem, don't you?" Karasu's eyes glinted. "I suppose that's why he's been keeping you, and your friends, in the dark…" He leaned then, casually, against the railing, musing: "So you won't think ill of him…"

"For someone so short on time, you're being awfully vague," I pointed out, scathingly.

His eyes tightened a little at that, and I instantly regretted the cut, as he gave me a level look, and crossed his arms, blinking in faint surprise at my bluntness.

"Very well, then. If you have a death wish." He watched as I started, edging further away from him, hand rising to my throat.

"Reina, you silly, foolish girl… I'm going to kill you."

My blood froze. I stood, paralyzed, staring into his eyes as he announced the malediction, so calmly, so unperturbed, still leaning against the railing as if he were talking casually about the weather.

"Ryo did this, didn't he?" My voice was weak, trembling, as I backed further down the stairs. I trembled as his eyes followed me. "He set this up. For some sort of twisted revenge..."

"For revenge? Of course not. The boy was the only of my company who resisted."

My breaths were jagged, heart racing fearfully in my chest. The claim of Ryo's innocence only registered faint surprise in my mind.

"Then… why…?"

Karasu chuckled, mercifully closing those penetrating eyes and shaking his head.

"It was under the pain of death that Ryo told you to come here, and in the fear of death that he unwillingly set the trap." He opened his eyes again, and they captured mine, holding me in place.

"But, rest assured, the coward was very, very reluctant to orchestrate this…"

"I still don't understand… why…?" My voice was lower than a whisper now, a mere breath.

Karasu sighed, and shrugged easily away from the railing. I lurched backwards. "Reina, you should know this… you see, Kurama has such _potential_…" he sighed again, "but _lacks_ the proper motivation. But, in your death, he will be consumed with rage, and fight me like he has fought no other."

"Why me?" My mouth was dry. My hands were shaking.

He eyed me, amused. "You are a victim of ignorance, Reina. You see… that boy, your Kurama…"

He paused. I waited, eyes darting nervously about me, searching for an escape. Finding none.

And Karasu continued.

"Loves you."

My eyes gave up their frantic search, focusing on Karasu's pale features. I could only stare at him. Disbelieving. And afraid.

"You're…" I managed, choking out the words, "You're insane…"

He stepped closer then, but I was too paralyzed to move.

"Quite the contrary. Let me help you remember, Reina." His eyes glinted, something malevolent, terrifying, lurking in their depths.

"When you went to speak with him, as he was surveying the competition, you did not see the… well, how should I put it… _resentment_, almost, when he saw you were being accompanied by that Shinobi..."

"He was worried," I said, shaking my head in denial, feeling cold beads of sweat trickle down the back of my neck. "Jin's a demon, of course he was worried…"

"And when you were hunting Ryo, your… vigilante," he continued quietly—I could sense his amusement. "Did you not see how… utterly _furious_ he was when the boy put you in danger?"

My blood froze in my veins as he stared into my eyes.

"You've… you've been following me," I whispered.

A slight crinkling in his eyes—betraying a cold smile under the mask—was my answer.

"Get away from me," I said flatly, taking another step back and stumbling again. "You're… insane. I don't… I don't believe you."

Karasu's eyes flashed. "No, not insane, girl. I just see… what you have failed to."

"I only believe what I can see," I retorted, my voice a near sob, taut with terror as he lifted a long, white hand. His fingers were curled, as if he were holding something. My knees trembled; my legs were weak. I wouldn't be able to run.

"Then I suppose you don't believe in this…?"

He tilted his hand in my direction; it was empty.

"There's nothing there," I pronounced, and felt my hands clench into fists. Tense, strained fists of fear—useless against a demon, I knew—but I couldn't help myself.

"Nothing that you can see," Karasu admitted, eyes flicking down to his hand, looking at it in a thoughtful, almost loving way. "But what I am holding is what's going to kill you. You would be wise to believe in it."

I was silent.

"Now…" Karasu's eyes glinted in anticipation, as he looked back into my face. "Let us finish this."

My chest rose and fell in gasps, dragging air into my lungs, and letting it out too fast to do me any good. My head was spinning, just like everything else. Caving in. Ceasing to be real.

A year ago, I didn't even believe in the occult.

But now I was going to die because of it.

At my silence, Karasu tilted his head slightly to the side, raven hair blowing out from behind him, casting long shadows across his gaunt features. "You could always try to run… though, I'll admit, it won't do you any good…"

And, suddenly, I was.

I whirled around, heart lurching into my throat, sprinting down the stairs two at a time as my breaths came too fast, too shallow, too soon—I was running from him in vain. I knew that I would not survive this. I knew it was useless to flee. But primal instinct drove me onwards, fear consuming all thoughts, and I was flying.

Then, in my path, a familiar, tall figure. He hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, staring, stricken, up into my face.

"_Reina_!" He lunged desperately up the stairs, running full tilt towards me.

I knew him instantly, and felt his name tear out of my throat.

"Ryo—_RUN_...!"

But he didn't. In my terror-driven flight, I was upon him before he could get even halfway up the staircase, a choking scream building up in my throat.

And he held out his arms, and jerked me to a stop…

And spun around, leaning over me, face a sickening blur of terror, and purpose.

My eyes slid past his face.

Karasu towered over us, eyes glinting a sinister burgundy, alight with the desire for blood, for death. His hand was lifted, holding the invisible doom.

Before I could cry out in warning, Ryo and I were flying.

The force of the explosion hurled us into the air, spinning, screaming. I could feel the intense heat of the blast—but it didn't burn me, and I realized that that had been Ryo's intention all along, as he shrieked from the agony that he had shielded me from.

We slammed into something bone-jarring, something solid, and we were separated on impact. I went rolling, crying out as my head slammed into stone, sliding across a smooth, rock-hard surface. I couldn't see Ryo. Or Karasu.

And I slid to a stop.

Something warm and wet trickled into my eyes, blinding me. I lifted an aching arm and rubbed it away.

It came back red with blood.

I looked up, fearfully, searchingly, seeking out the boy who had saved me and the sadistic demon who wanted to kill me.

A moan reached my ears, and my eyes widened as they landed on a crumpled, dark figure on the ground.

"Ryo…!"

He fell back to the ground with a yelp. My blood froze. I scrambled to my feet unsteadily, and bolted towards him.

Karasu materialized in my path, and I skittered to a stop, almost falling over, retreating quickly in terror.

He loomed over me, the darkest shadow I had ever seen.

"Reina!" Ryo shouted desperately. "A bomb, on your left—MOVE!"

I didn't think, I just acted, lunging to my right.

The explosion still knocked me off my feet, sent me rolling. I knew it had hit me before I slammed into the ground—if the searing pain on my calf was any indication.

I slid to a stop and forced myself to sit up. I surveyed the damage quickly. It wasn't nearly as bad as it could've been.

Karasu was still standing there, in the exact center of the ring. He was staring at me, pinning me to the stone with my fear. Then he glanced away, towards Ryo—who was just beginning to stand—and raised his hand.

The explosion tossed him backwards like a rag doll, off of the ring, and he slammed into the barrier wall. He fell forward, to his knees, to his side, and then lay on his back, unable to move.

"No," I whispered hoarsely, and spun, launching myself off of the ring, landing in the grass and falling over when my leg gave out on me. I scrambled to my feet and limped as fast as I could to get to Ryo.

I reached him and he turned his head to look at me as I hovered over him.

"I told you to come here," he all but whispered, coughing once. Blood lightly speckled my face, dripped over his trembling lips. His eyes were tortured. "He made me… set you up… and I did. I"m sorry, Reina. I'm so sorry."

I could see the wounds on his chest—his shirt had been incinerated in the last explosion—and almost wept at the ruined flesh. "But you've already done so much to try to make it right," I breathed, reaching up and wiping away a droplet of blood that was traveling down his chin. fighting the sobs welling up in my throat. "That counts for something, Ryo. I forgi—"

Ryo's eyes widened in horror, and I spun to see Karasu standing over us.

"Touching," he said with a malicious chuckle, and lifted a hand.

I turned back to Ryo and threw myself over him—supporting my weight on my arms so I didn't hurt his wounds. He stared into my eyes silently, and I saw that he was crying. His tears mixed with the blood on his cheeks.

The blow didn't come.

And then, his voice, right next to my ear.

"On the off chance that you survive this… Reina," he murmured silkily.

Then, searing agony.

It ripped me from hip to shoulder, knocking the wind out of me so I couldn't even manage a scream, just a choking gasp. I fell on top of Ryo, and I felt his hands come up and hold me. He was whispering in my ear, but I couldn't hear his words. My mind was numb.

"Now," Karasu said. His foot hooked under my side, and kicked me over. I cried out as the torn, tattered flesh of my back hit the ground.

"Let's see yours, _boy_."

I heard him kick Ryo over as well, and turned my head languidly to look. Darkness was creeping into my vision.

Ryo was facedown now, and Karasu was kneeling next to him, back towards me. As I watched, unable to move, barely able to breathe, Karasu grabbed a handful of Ryo's hair and yanked his face to eye level.

"_Takeo_ Ryo, isn't it?" he asked quietly.

"Fuck you," Ryo hissed, and spat in his face.

Karasu didn't do anything for a single second, and then rose suddenly, holding Ryo up.

He threw him back onto the ring, and then came for me.

I weakly tried to crawl away, but he reached me anyway and did the same—tossed me back onto the stone tiles. My broken body rolled to a stop next to Ryo's.

Karasu appeared behind Ryo, staring down at him coldly.

"Up, boy. I want to look into your eyes as I kill you. I know you have the strength left. The ones before you suffered worse than you have today, and still—they stood and faced their deaths, bravely. Get up. Do not ruin your family's reputation with _cowardice_." The last word was a hiss.

The darkness was closing over me, suffocating me in its embrace. I knew if I succumbed, I would never wake. I fought it back and reached for Ryo.

His hand came out and took hold of mine. He stared into my eyes.

"Survive… for both of us. Promise me that," he whispered.

"Stay," I whimpered. "Don't—"

He squeezed my hand one last time, smiled grimly, and rose slowly to his feet, letting my hand slip out of his. Tears flowed unbidden down my cheeks as he stumbled—but stood. He turned to face Karasu.

Under the burns, under the blood, I could see three faint scars marking the wide expanse of his back.

With a shout, he lunged at Karasu, and the demon humored him for the lesser part of a minute—dodging punches, deflecting them idly—but then he grabbed Ryo by the throat and lifted him into the air.

"Ryo!" I sobbed, trying to move, to stand, to do _something_ but—

"I want you to watch this very carefully, Reina," Karasu said, turning to look down at me. He held Ryo out so I could see him. "Watch him die."

He drew back a thin, pale hand, and then flicked it forward.

Ryo let out a choked gasp as Karasu's hand buried itself in his chest.

_NO_! My mind screamed as I could only watch in mute horror, unable to speak, unable to do anything as Ryo went limp. _RYO…! _Ryo, NO!

Karasu yanked his hand out of Ryo's heart and lightly tossed his body towards me.

Ryo was facedown, head turned towards me—his cheek resting on the stone. His eyes locked on mine. His fingers twitched.

I saw how he was barely holding on, and pulled myself across the tiles to get to him.

"Ryo…" I whispered as I dragged myself next to him. I reached out and took his hand. "Please… stay with me. _Don't_…"

Blood flowed over his lips and began to pool onto the tiles. He smiled.

"Live," he told me, and then his eyes unfocused. His weak grip on my hand loosened. He didn't move. Didn't breathe.

Dead. Ryo was dead.

"Are you near your end, Reina...?"

My heartbeats were slow and distant in my ears. The raw, bleeding wound in my back sent wave after wave of pain through my skull, my entire body, paralyzing me. Karasu was walking towards me. He was laughing.

"_Do_ try to suffer a little more..."

I stared, helpless, across the ground. Into Ryo's eyes. Blank. Lifeless.

Dead.

"Ryo…" I choked, gasping, vision swimming with tears.

And, suddenly, I thought of everyone else. Their faces swam before my eyes, not overlapping Ryo's, but ebbing behind it, hazy images.

Yukina, Shizuru, Kurama, Botan... Kuwabara and Yusuke, Keiko and Jin. Hell, even Hiei. Though the latter would probably be happy that I was gone, everyone else would suffer if I died. I knew I would, if our roles were reversed.

My family.

I had known them... I had known them well...

Ryo... Ryo was just a boy that I had met by chance. I didn't even know him, much. And he had died for me.

I would miss them both.

The pain ripped mercilessly through my body, lighting me on fire, burning me from the inside out.

My mind screamed with it. And as I stared into Ryo's eyes, as I dragged myself a little closer to his body, I knew what was the greater pain. The worst agony.

The unbearable guilt that I knew I would carry, for the rest of my life. The last few minutes that I had to live, I knew I would suffer more than Karasu could ever dream of.

Ryo was dead.

And it was my fault.

The truth rang through my mind. I sobbed into the ground, not caring anymore of what Karasu thought of me, not caring if he laughed at my pain. It didn't matter anymore. I didn't care anymore. Why did Ryo ask me to live? I couldn't live with this.

"Don't worry, Reina… you'll soon be joining him. But first…"

I felt his fingers on my throat. He lifted the Barrier Stone from my neck, and my eyes rolled back into my head as his aura washed over me, burning me alive.

"A momento from our time together."

Karasu's voice fell without weight on my numbed ears, as I gazed into Ryo's empty face. Dead. For me.

Karasu's shadow cast a dark, final haze over me. I knew it was over.

I knew his hand was lifting into the air…

His eyes would be glinting with victory.

I closed my eyes, and waited for the end.

* * *

**Hiei's POV**

In an instant, I was at her side, sword drawn.

The crow demon obviously sensed my advance—my sword cut through his afterimage with a faint whoosh, but I jerked the hilt up in time, so the blade just missed the ground.

The mental fire flared up at the human's aura, and I bared my teeth in a disgusted grimace, whipping around to face the demon, the tip of my sword leveled in his direction. I could hear the human make a small moaning noise at my presence, and reminded myself to scoff at her for it later. Idiotic, weak fool.

The demon was silent, glaring at me.

_I can't believe... why would Hiei...?_ The human's thoughts whispered, dull, turned out from habit. Along with it, more fire, an annoying flame that seared across my Jagan, not blinding it, but slashing it, jabbing it, attacking it.

_Endure, you fool. Think of something other than the pain—control your pathetic power._ I thought back angrily. Her grieving was distracting.

My eyes didn't leave the demon's face. So I saw when he slinked forward a step, circling around to my left. Trying to get at the human.

"Try it," I challenged, in a snarl, swiveling so I was between the girl and her attacker.

The demon stood crouched for a few seconds more, then swiftly rose to his full height, and his eyes crinkled as he smiled, under his mask.

"Actually... no, I don't think I will."

At the sound of the demon's voice, the girl on the ground whimpered softly, and thrashed weakly. A faint thought, like a leaf on the breeze.

_Ryo..._

At the mention of the unknown's name, I felt my eyes flick down automatically, glancing down at the human.

Her fingers were closed around those of a dead man's. Uninteresting.

Only a few seconds had passed since the demon's last words, and I moved my gaze from the broken pair on the ground, back up into the demon's face.

"Then you're not as foolish as you look," I retorted, letting my eyes narrow into a glare, frowning.

His eyes flashed, and slipped past me, to the bleeding human crumpled on the ground behind me. "I believe..." the demon said slowly, thoughtfully, "that though I would like to have the satisfaction of killing her now… the idea of having Kurama watch her life slip away is quite… appealing." His eyes flicked back up to mine, they were glinting now, excited.

"Take her, look at her. It will make no difference, Hiei. She's already dead... she has no will to live." The demon's eyes glinted red. "She will die with him... and then, maybe... he will understand that... certain _feeling_..."

"You disgust me," I growled. The human at my feet stirred weakly.

I looked back down at her. Her eyes were searching beneath their lids, twitching, fluttering... seeking helplessly.

With a resigned, inward grunt, I sheathed my sword and bent down to her level, assessing the situation. The claw marks in her back were deep, bleeding. If I wasn't wearing my cloak, that would be a problem. A second's worth of skin contact would kill her, now.

Grimacing in disgust, I slipped my arm under her knees, the other behind her shoulders, and stood.

I had to tug to free her hand from the corpse's.

She cried out weakly, jerking out of her semi-comatose state, and peered blearily up at me. Her face was bloodless. Weak, repulsive human.

Then I was running.

In three seconds, I had broken free of the stadium, and was hurtling through the trees, darting soundlessly between the streams of light filtering through the canopy from the setting sun.

At the same time, I cast my mind forward, letting a snarl of frustration come forth as the girl cried out, as my running jostled her wounds, searing them, burning them.

But she had no blood left to bleed.

_KURAMA!_

_Yes?_ His inner voice was quick to reply, tight, nervous from my mental shout. _Hiei... what...?_

I shot a mental image of the girl's face to him, and his thoughts froze. They completely iced over; the vision had paralyzed him.

Then, instantly, he had recovered, and his thoughts were cool, collected—Kurama had a purpose now, and his emotions didn't matter at the moment. Finish the objective at hand, and then he could mourn, and seek his revenge. That was why I respected him.

_What can I do?_

_Meet me. She's more used to your aura, it'll buy her time._

_Already on my way._

All of Kurama's automatic mental barriers were cast away, dissipating in the wind. In the back of my mind, I could see his surroundings—blurred from his haste—I could hear the leaves under his feet scatter into the air from his speed. I turned in his direction, recognizing where he was, and sped towards that place.

The girl was beyond vocal complaint now. In my peripheral, I could see her mouth opening and closing, tears seeping out of her eyes, but she didn't scream.

"_Take _her!" I snarled, lurching to a stop as Kurama and I met, and shoved the human into his arms, and retreated across the clearing.

"Reina..."

I lifted my head to see what Kurama was doing. And I saw a frozen man, wide-eyed, trembling, weak.

And in that moment, all the respect I had for him vanished.

"The amulet?" Kurama asked me loudly, jerking his gaze up from the girl's to question me with his eyes. I shrugged, unable to answer.

The presence of the girl's thoughts was fading.

"He's… tak…en... it…"

We both looked at the human girl as she stared up at Kurama, trembling fingers clutching and staining his shirt with her blood.

"Who? Who took it?" Kurama questioned gently, though his eyes were wide with panic.

The girl opened her mouth to speak… and a thin line of blood ran out of her mouth. It trickled down her cheek, and dripped to the ground.

Her fingers loosened their hold on Kurama…

And her hand fell, swinging, away from her body. Her eyes slipped shut.

And her heart stopped beating.

* * *

…**Yeah, I just did that. Left the most evil cliffhanger EVER. XD**

**...Reviews help me edit faster. Just saying' ;D**


	22. Requited

**Here is the continuation from the last, evil cliffhanger I left for you guys to agonize on!**

**Thank you _MizuKaji, pourquoibella, Noface, Takara Roze Oizumi, Lady Eve, anon, Oakensheild, Otaku-neku, nevvy, RandomCitizen, Delu, and Wolf-Maiden Mitsuki_ for being wonderful reviewers! I love hearing what you think about the latest chapters.**

**Read on!**

* * *

_"Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction." _

—_Antoine de Saint-Exupéry_

Requited

* * *

**Hiei's POV**

I was frozen for a few moments.

Kurama had disappeared, as soon as the sound of the human's heart had ceased, becoming nothing. I guessed as to where he was, but... why should I care?

The flames were gone.

I glowered at the stand of trees that Kurama had fled through, and felt my eyes slip shut of their own accord. On my forehead, the Jagan opened.

The trees around me disappeared, vanished, becoming one with the darkness that surrounded my power. I eased into the oblivion, and immersed myself in it.

_They had already arrived at the hotel room; the girl was laid across one of the beds there, cold and silent. There was a flurry of activity, hastened—about her, above her. I could hear the other humans making loud exclamations, gasps of shock. Shadows flitted across the dead woman's face._

_Hiei! We need Botan!_

I frowned. He knew I would be watching.

I sent a tendril of my consciousness out into the forest, searching...

_Get back to the hotel. Your friend's been attacked._ I didn't let my thoughts linger for an explanation; that concise statement would do.

I flicked my attention back over to the hotel room.

"_Move! Leave the room, Kurama! Your presence isn't helping her in the slightest..." The Masked Fighter entered my line of mental vision, hovering over the girl._

_Kurama, after an instant of hesitation, exited. _

His thoughts were difficult to look at. I ignored him.

"_Head off Yukina. She saw you come up," The Fighter called after him._

"_What's—the kid...?" The eldest Kuwabara ran into the room, tried once to get to her friend, and backed off when the Fighter waved her back._

_Yusuke's human, the short-haired one, was cowering in the corner, eyes wide on the dead girl's face._

"_Her heart's stopped. Stand back."_

_The Fighter's hands glowed. She pressed it to the dead one's chest._

_There was a flash of spiritual energy. The corpse jerked up, back bowing, then slumped back onto the bed. Her heart thudded once, but only once._

"_Botan... we need Botan. She can close her wounds..."_

_Another flash of light, another fruitless shock._

_Again._

_Again._

_And then, her heart began beating faintly. The fighter flipped her over, tore the shirt off her back, and began to heal the deep wounds there._

I opened my eyes, and closed my Jagan as I felt Kurama draw near. As he came within fifty yards of me, I suppressed my aura and left the area.

Telling him who had attacked the girl would only distract him. We couldn't afford any distractions.

* * *

**Reina's POV**

_This doesn't look like hell._

It was bright, too bright. It hurt my eyes. I heard, in the distance, something moan. That sound couldn't be me, it was impossible.

_But it sure as hell feels like hell..._

My head pounded. My throat was dry. When I tried to open my mouth, a searing pain slashed through my thoughts, scrambling them, and I clenched it shut. Which brought on another wave of pain.

I cursed, mentally. If I so much as twitched, it felt like I would split in two.

_But where am I...?_

I forced my eyes to open, and peered blearily at my surroundings. To say, the painfully bright ceiling. I could tell I was lying on something soft, like a mattress... but it felt like every inch of me had been skinned, burned, and then showered with salt.

In short... it really, _really_ hurt.

I heard another groan, and realized, with a shock, that it was me. I sounded like an animal...

_Maybe this is hell..._

"_Oi_...! Hey, Rei's up, the lot of ya! Did'ya hear me? I kin see 'er eyes openin'!"

Yep. Definitely hell.

In response to the Irish-tinged outburst, there were a few disgruntled groans from the other room, and a loud, "That's the _fifth_ time you've said that in the past _hour_, Jin. Knock it _off_..."

I heard a door creak open, somewhere around my feet.

"J-Jin...?" My voice was a rasp. I forced my eyes to open, and squinted at the brightness in the room.

"Tha's the one." I saw his face, blurred, before my eyes. It took awhile to focus them, and when they did, I could see him grin. "Yeh gave us a wiggle of a scare, Rei."

'Wiggle'? And what was up with the nickname? Did he really have that much trouble with two syllables...?

"Oh, she _is_ up!" A delighted, trilling voice sang. It sounded tired. Then, with a click, the light intensified.

"Gah...!" I complained, and tried to throw up an arm to shield my eyes. Could it be possible that the light from before... was the moonlight, coming in from the window? Really...?

As I tried to cover my face, my back exploded with pain. With a strangled yelp, I let my arm fall back down into the downy mattress. Carefully, I pushed myself up a little further on the bed, and looked down at myself.

My torso was wrapped entirely in bandages, and a few strips went up and over my right shoulder to secure it. My back ached.

"I'm really bad off, aren't I?" I whispered.

Yukina nodded sadly. I saw her eyes swimming with tears. "We thought we were going to lose you, Reina…"

I blinked, and frowned. Something—probably another bandage—itched just above my eyebrows. "I just…" I shifted slightly, and grimaced. My head ached. Everything ached.

Jin and Yukina exchanged glances. Then, with a small, weary smile, Yukina leaned forward and patted the back of my left hand—it was free of bandages. It was gloved, though.

I shifted slightly, and felt a bulky bandage wrapped around my left leg, from ankle to knee.

"Kurama brought you in here... after it happened. Your heart had stopped... but the Masked Fighter was here, with us..."

Masked Fighter. Why would that matter...?

"...she restarted your heart with her spiritual energy. And I made these..." Yukina lifted her free hand to the collar of her kimono, where, I noted with dim surprise, a paper ward was pinned, one meant to ward off demons.

"They were the only things I had to look at when I was prisoner. I altered them, somewhat... and they can seal the powers of all the demons we know—not just ice apparitions." Yukina smiled again, and my head twisted around her words, trying to make sense of them. Yukina saw my confused expression, and continued to explain.

"That's why you can't feel our energy right now," she informed me with a knowing smile, and gestured to Jin. On one of the gathers of white cloth that crisscrossed his chest, I could see a ward pinned there, one almost identical to Yukina's.

She was right; I couldn't sense either of their auras. I frowned.

The Barrier Stone...

I didn't need to check for it. I knew it was gone.

"So... because you and Jin are...good demons..." I began, using simple words and shaking off those dark thoughts, trying to lose myself in the conversation.

"...we can get into the room." Yukina nodded with a small smile. "I made twenty or so general wards, and taped them to the walls... the doors, the windows... I don't think any demonic energy is going to reach you." She tapped her paper. "Because your amulet is gone, I made these to seal our energy. When we're in here, we'll wear these... and that will make our auras invisible. We won't tire you." She smiled then, and her worn, burgundy eyes shone with genuine warmth.

"Thanks," I sighed.

"Hiei said 'twas a demon tha' attached yeh," Jin said, cocking his head slightly to one side, crossing his arms.

I flinched, averting my gaze. "Yeah."

"Is 'e anyone ah know?"

"I don't want to talk about it… not right now," I whispered.

There was a long, awkward pause. I didn't say anything, and neither did Jin, or Yukina.

"How long was I out?" I croaked, letting my eyes slip shut, blocking out the glaring whiteness. I thought about asking Yukina to turn the light off, but I was getting used to it. I didn't want to bother her.

"Eight hours."

"Hey, you weren't kidding," a voice said. I opened my eyes. A second later, Shizuru's sleep-deprived features peeked from behind Jin. "Hey, kid. You look like hell."

"Thanks." I grimaced, and flicked my gaze back over to Yukina. "Alright... so Kurama brought me here, the Masked Fighter jumpstarted my heart, and there are demonic wards all over the place, to seal your and Jin's auras, and to keep the other demons' auras out...?" The summarization tired me out, and I felt my eyes slip shut of their own accord. I struggled to keep them open.

"That's right."

I nodded, and it hurt. I frowned. "A few hours... I went from dead to fully conscious in just eight hours? How is that... even _possible_..." I lifted an eyebrow, shifting the bandage wrapped around my head a bit as I did so.

"Hiei sent a telepathic message to Botan," Yukina explained. "I can't heal you... because I'm a demon... but Botan flew here and closed all your wounds." She bit her lip. It didn't go unnoticed by me.

"That must've taken some effort." I prompted.

Yukina didn't meet my gaze. "Botan... passed out. But she'll be fine... she's resting," she surrendered.

I suppressed the urge to groan. But something in my expression tipped Yukina off on my disgruntled-ness, because her smile faded and she patted my hand again.

"She knew you wouldn't like it. I didn't want to say anything..." she said timidly, fingers still resting innocently on the back of my gloved hand, and when I looked up at her, my irritation vanished.

In her eyes, I saw a troubled sort of caring, almost like a mother... but so much different. Yukina was my friend, and my family.

And I had almost lost that.

I blinked furiously to rid my eyes of the stinging wetness, and turned my head away quickly. In my peripheral, I saw Jin and Yukina lean forward, subconsciously.

"Rei..."

"Does it hurt?" Yukina asked worriedly, leaning over me and peering into my eyes. Shizuru had long since left the room, probably to sleep. I was glad. I didn't want her to see me cry; I would be a total wimp in her eyes.

"No, it doesn't," I told them, biting down on my quivering lip. "It's sick, I know—but I'm just really, _really_ happy to be alive right now..."

"'Ow's tha' sick...?" Jin asked, frowning uncharacteristically. Yukina shushed him, and then realization dawned on him.

"Ryo," I murmured. Something twisted in my chest, and my eyes burned. I blinked very quickly and hastily wiped my cheeks with the back of my right hand.

"Oh," Jin said, at a loss for words.

We all stared at each other.

"Don' need t' be talkin' about tha' now, Rei," Jin murmured, and averted his gaze. Yukina, brow furrowed in worry, maternally patted my hand again. I looked away from them both.

"Okay," I replied, voice dull. _His_ face, crumpled, bloodstained, lifeless, blank... reared up in front of my eyes, and I closed them. Died for me... and here I was... _thankful_ for being alive. What a way to honor his memory.

Yukina and Jin had obviously noticed my preoccupation, so they didn't attempt to engage me in conversation. If they had tried, I wasn't aware of it.

It wasn't like I was thinking of anything. My mind was just... blank. Numb, and distant. Nothing seemed substantial anymore, not even my wounds, which had started to ache with a vengeance, not even my friends' voices as they conversed with each other, over my head. They probably assumed that I had fallen asleep. My eyes were closed.

I caught the gist of their conversation—small talk, really—and was not surprised to hear what they were saying. What with Jin being the only powerful demon of our group right now (Kurama was missing), he had been hanging out in our hotel room, in case my attacker came for me. Again.

But I knew that it didn't matter. Karasu assumed that I was dead. There was no way of his knowing the truth, because of the paper wards that Yukina had posted throughout the hotel room. It was like a one-way mirror—I would be able to sense any demon outside the hotel room (if I mentally projected), but the wards would block them from sensing me.

I wanted to curl up and hide.

* * *

I must've drifted off amidst the sound of Yukina, Shizuru, and Jin talking, because, when I came to, sunlight was streaming in the window.

And beady, red eyes were glaring at me from across the room.

There were two people I knew that had red eyes. One was my friend. One was her evil brother.

"Oh… Hi, Hiei. What do you want?" I asked, not quite unkindly, but not nicely either. He was glaring right at me, so I automatically went on the defensive.

At least he has a ward pinned to his cloak, probably on Yukina's prompting. I was grateful for that much, at least.

Hiei still glowered at me, from the darkest corner in the room (naturally), arms crossed, lips frozen in an eternal scowl.

"Hn."

I sighed, and lifted my good hand to attempt to tame the waist-length chaos that was my hair, and gave up on the attempt immediately. Then, I realized that I had crossed my legs, Indian-style, as I had shifted under Hiei's unfailingly antagonistic glare. Which was not usually something to marvel over... unless one of your legs had been inches from an explosion about… I glanced over at the window; it was mid afternoon—almost twenty-four hours ago.

_Botan,_ I thought immediately, twisting my ankle and feeling no burning, not even a scratchy bandage. My torso was still bandaged though, and my back ached dully. Then I looked up.

Hiei was still glaring, still silent.

"Why did you save me, Hiei?" I murmured. "We both know you aren't that fond of me."

He was quiet for a few seconds, and with a glare, grudgingly grunted his agreement. "Agreed, human." His lip curled. "However, Kurama doesn't share my contempt. If you had been killed, he would have been… distracted." I frowned and lifted an eyebrow.

_"…Loves you."_ Karasu's evil, smooth voice echoed in my thoughts, and I flinched slightly.

Oh.

"You knew that he….?" I trailed off, unable to finish my question because of the unsteady flip-flopping of my heart.

Hiei's lip curled slightly as if he could hear the unsure rhythm of my pulse. He probably could. "Naturally. I advised him against investing his emotions in something so… temporary as a mortal. He didn't listen," he added unnecessarily. "He's grown too soft, living in this world among your useless race."

I let the insults slide; I was too weary to get into an argument. "Well, I still appreciate your saving me, even if it wasn't for my sake. Thank you, Hiei."

He growled something under his breath and turned, blurring out of existence. I sighed and lifted my hand to rest on my fluttering heart. I didn't know what to make of Kurama and his… feelings. Much less my reactions to them.

_Oh, you know exactly what it means, Reina_, an aggravated, yet sly voice whispered. I shook my head and sighed, banishing those fleeting thoughts.

I needed to talk to him. I didn't know what I was going to say, but somehow I felt that would solve _something_.

Or so I hoped.

A second later, Keiko and Yukina, closely shadowed by Jin, walked into the room.

"Reina?" Yukina asked slowly, coming to a halt and giving me a puzzled look. "You're up."

"Yeah… my leg feels much better," I mumbled, biting down on my lip as I took a hold of the edge of the mattress, pulling myself up a little further. My back throbbed; it took my breath away, and I started to fall to my side.

"Oi! Gotcha, lass," Jin said, materializing by my side and catching me carefully—the paper ward he had adhered to his chest did dull his aura, but it didn't work nearly as well as the Barrier Stone did—and setting me back against the pillows. I smiled wanly at him, and nodded my thanks.

"Yukina, what's wrong with her...?" Keiko asked in a whisper. I pretended not to hear—judging from Keiko's hushed tone, I wasn't supposed to. In my peripheral, I saw Yukina shoot a concerned glance in my direction, then tug on Keiko's sleeve, guiding the taller girl out of the room.

"Yeh alrigh', Rei?" Jin asked, blinking down at me.

"Yeah... where's Botan?" I asked, in a low voice, knowing that he would hear me (what with his heightened demonic senses and all), and secretly wanting to hear what Yukina and Keiko were saying.

"Yukina, what's wrong with Reina...?"

Yukina was silent for a moment, then answered quietly:

"Her wounds are still healing..."

"She an' the guys're watchin' a round, getting' a preview of who they're gonna figh' before the semifinals," Jin said in response to my query, oblivious to my real preoccupation...

"But... she fell over just sitting _up_… is it really that bad…?"

"…I'm afraid so."

Both Jin and I were silent, and I glanced about the room, feigning absentmindedness while I was still listening to what Yukina and Keiko were talking about.

"I thought... that Botan healed her back already..."

I strained to listen.

"Botan tried to heal it..."

My brow furrowed. I felt my back throb.

"But it just... scarred."

I should've known that. I could feel it now—three, long, serpentine marks, stretching from the curve of where my neck became my shoulder, all the way to the left side of my waist. A physical memory.

My brand.

"...She'll carry it for the rest of her life."

* * *

From what I had gathered, the semifinals would start tomorrow.

After a morning with Yukina, Keiko, Jin, and Shizuru for company, Botan finally came back from scoping out the competition with the boys, and she came back in a fretful rage.

"They're going to tear the team apart!" Botan fumed, exploding into the hotel room with a mysterious, peeping blue object cradled in her arms, and a furious grimace on her face.

"Um... simmer it down, sit down, and tell us about it," I cautioned, patting the stretch of couch next to me, and casting my hand of cards onto the coffee table. Jin had introduced us girls to a card game... called "Tyson Chicken Rocks" **(1)**, and that was how we had entertained ourselves throughout the entire morning.

"Yeh talked!" Jin proclaimed gleefully, abandoning his hand and yanking a card off the top of the deck on the coffee table, and shoving it into my good hand. "In ya _face_...!"

"Actually, in yours, Jin," I rebutted, lifting another card and giving it to him. "You talked as well... and I think that the state of Botan's dying plushy is of far more importance..." I nodded to the blue thing that Botan was unwittingly choking to death.

I couldn't fathom what kind of creature it was, but it was chirping in a dying way, so I guessed that it was alive, for now. But if Botan continued to squeeze the life out of it, it wouldn't be.

"Oh, sorry, Puu..." Botan apologized, and slackening her death-grip on the poor, blue thing. She whirled on me. "You're _up_!" she exclaimed, shocked. "How's your back…?" She came over to me and sat down on the armrest, releasing the mysterious animal.

With an indignant "Puu!" (which, I guessed, was how it had been christened) the creature took flight and lit atop Jin's head, and, after a moment of consideration, pecked in an interested way at the horn that protruded from Jin's thick mane of hair.

I stared at the thing, wondering what it could be, then shook my head and caught Botan's gaze. I smiled a little. "It's getting there. Thank you for healing it, Botan…" I frowned. "Now... who exactly is tearing the team apart, and after you tell me that, you can tell me which one of our boys fell into a pool of radioactive sludge..." I glanced at the "Puu", as Botan had called it, and smirked, "because that thing looks a lot like Yusuke..."

At that, Keiko giggled in a way that told me that I had missed something, and Botan sighed, making herself comfortable.

"Oh, it's awful..." Botan groaned, shooting me a piteous look. "Yusuke and the Masked Fighter got into a fight about _something_... and they've gone off somewhere and I think they're going to have a _doozy_ of a row..."

"Oh," I said simply. I had expected it to be something far more devastating, and, to be honest, was rather relieved. "Well... Yusuke could use a few conks to the head. Put him into his place... and besides, it's not our business..."

"Oh, that's exactly what the others said!" Botan cried exasperatedly, giving me an angrily disappointed look. "They think that this isn't a big deal-"

"—And I doubt that it is," I finished, and smiled disarmingly up at her. "Listen, Botan... Yusuke's an idiot, but I think the Fighter knows what she's doing. She's not going to kill him, or let herself get killed, if that's what you're worried about..."

"But..."

"Reina's right, Botan," Shizuru said offhandedly, waving her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. Yusuke's a big boy; he can handle it. And the Fighter's not as stupid as he is."

Yukina, Jin, and Keiko were silent during the exchange, looking between Botan, Shizuru, and I as if watching a three-way tennis match.

"Puu…"

"And what on _earth_ is that thing?" I asked, glancing over at the mystery object (who was still perched atop Jin's head). Big, brown eyes stared at me, from under a tuft of jet-black hair. I grinned despite myself. "Not that it isn't cute…"

And so Botan explained the existence of Puu.

Apparently, Yusuke had become a mother. To an adorable, fuzzy manifestation of his soul, via an egg that he had promised to hatch, from his days as a ghost.

Just what exactly Puu was (creature-wise) was beyond any of us. I thought he looked like a penguin.

It was only to be expected, I supposed. None of us were really sure of what Yusuke was, either.

Botan hadn't given up on the topic of Team Urameshi's dubious demise, so when she stood suddenly and announced that she was going to their room, to see how they were holding up, none of us were surprised.

"I'll go with you," Keiko offered, and stood, pulling Yukina to her feet. She looked at Shizuru, who gave in with a sigh, and snuffed out her cigarette in the glass tray on the coffee table. She stood.

They all looked at me. Not inquisitively, as if they were silently asking me if I wanted to go, but with sudden realization that my leaving the room was impossible.

"Maybe I should stay…" Yukina said slowly, looking between Botan and me.

"Don't be ridiculous," I scoffed, shaking my head and smiling. "You guys go on ahead, and send my regards, will you?"

They exchanged glances.

"Seriously, get out of here! Tell them I said good luck," I laughed, poking Botan in the ribs and smirking.

"Times!" Jin exclaimed suddenly, and pointed at me. "Yeh said twenty-four words. Yeh get twenty-four cards, Rei!"

"Oh, stuff it, Jin," I replied, rolling my eyes at him. I looked back at the girls. "Why don't you bring them some junk food, Botan? We've got enough here to kill us by the end of the week…"

"…Forty-six…"

"That's a good idea," Botan said brightly, and flounced off to the mini-kitchen, where I could hear her rummaging through drawers, opening and closing the refrigerator.

"Oh, and take Puu with you," I told Keiko, a few minutes later, as Botan was trying to open the door with her foot (her arms were laden with artery-clogging delicacies). I held the small animal up to her, and frowned. "He doesn't look well…"

It was true. Puu's eyes were drooping, and, as I handed him off to Keiko, he just sat cradled in her arms, limp, dejected. He would usually insist on perching on her head, but he didn't even struggle.

"Poor little guy…"

"I'll see you later!" Botan called back, as she stumbled out the door, scattering cans and bags of junk food across the hallway outside. With a sigh, Shizuru picked up what had been dropped, and they disappeared. Keiko turned and followed suit.

"Are you sure, Reina…?" Yukina asked, brow puckering, a hesitant hand on the doorframe.

"Very. Have fun!"

She eyed me for a second, then smiled faintly. "Alright. Goodbye…"

And she closed the door behind her.

There was a moment of silence.

Then…

"Ferget cards!" Jin proclaimed suddenly, casting down his hand and leaning over the back of the couch, searching for something that he had stashed there. I watched him with some amusement, but mostly puzzlement, as he reared back up, triumphant, clutching a multi-hued box in his large hands.

Then I read the lettering inscribed on it.

I looked between it, Jin's face, and back again.

"Twister, Rei. You an' me. Now." Jin grinned, and waggled the box in my direction.

I became incredulous.

"_Twister_, Jin? Seriously…? Where the heck…" I shook my head, "did you get your hands on a game of Twister…"

"I got connections," he grinned. "So help me move th' table, Rei!" He dropped the box on the couch, and stood, grasping the edge of the coffee table with one hand. He looked at me.

I felt like rolling my eyes. Surely he knew that it was physically impossible for me to participate—what with my back still being mutilated—and _surely_ he knew that I would not degrade myself that way. Ever.

Apparently, he did not. So I hurriedly came up with a way to evade the disastrous experience.

"Um, you know…" I said indifferently, rising to my feet and pretending to yawn. "I've suddenly and conveniently become _very_ exhausted… see you in the morning, Jin…"

"Wha?" he exclaimed, lurching to his full height and gaping at me in horror. "Rei, yer no fun…!"

And I walked around the couch, into the bedroom, and closed the door behind me. For extra measure, I flipped the lock.

* * *

To my surprise, my claim of tiredness was not, in fact, a lie. After taking a shower and awkwardly putting some bandages back on my back (I ended up wrapping everything from my collarbone to the top of my ribcage and asking Jin to help with the rest—my movement had made the scar act up; I was reduced to tears by the end of it.) After that was done, I crawled into bed and instantly fell asleep. I guessed that Jin had done the same, crashing on the couch, or had gotten bored and left.

And when I came to the next morning, the sun was high in the sky, and there was a note on my bedside table.

_Reina,_ It read.

_Yukina, Keiko, Shizuru, and I had to dash out of here as soon as we woke up—we were late for the semifinals—so don't worry about where we are. Jin's going to stay here with you, so you'll be safe… you can listen to the semifinals on the radio, Jin knows the station. I healed your back some more so you should be able to get around a little easier—but don't overdo it, okay? _

_Take care!_

_Botan_

I read it several times, then refolded it and shoved it back on the nightstand, rising to my feet and grimacing as my back protested simultaneously. I hesitantly stretched until it brought tears of pain to my eyes. I could fully extend my arms above my head with minimal pain, but if I did anything too quickly, it hurt. A lot. I took a few practice steps across my bedroom floor—standing straight, not hunched over like I had been doing thus far. The pain that came with that movement was bearable, but annoying.

I felt slightly less stiff and old as I shuffled to the door, and opened it.

Like the note had promised, Jin was lounging on the couch, listening to the radio with his tapered ears twitching. He turned his head, grinned at me, and waved.

"Mornin'."

"Hey," I replied groggily, and dragged myself over to the mini-kitchen, rummaged around in the drawers, and found a carton of cereal that Botan had thought to bring along. I noticed that if I didn't bend over too quickly, it wasn't too painful. I thanked Botan every time I noticed one of these small milestones.

After eating, I grabbed a set of my clothes and changed in the bathroom, yanking my favorite navy blue hoodie over my head and over my plain white T-shirt, and pulling on a pair of ragged jeans. I gave up taming my hair and settled for twisting it into a loose bun, and then re-entered the main room and plopped down on the couch, across from Jin, braiding my hair over my shoulder.

I couldn't seem to focus on the radio broadcast. From what I had gathered, Team Urameshi was up first (naturally), and Koto had been replaced by another announcer called Juri. Koto had been demoted to commentating from the sidelines, and I was glad for that. I was sick of her rabid, cheery bloodlust.

I was nervous, and edgy. I kept glancing to the door, checking to see if the paper wards were still taped there, if the deadbolt was secure—and I kept looking at Jin, to see if he sensed anything approaching.

It had been two days… and I was still terrified.

"Reina."

I blinked, looking up at Jin as I heard the alien sobriety in his tone, and he stared back at me.

"Stop it."

I blinked again, and frowned. "Stop what?"

Jin leaned forward, across the coffee table, and rested his elbows on his knees, placing his chin on his interlaced fingers.

"Lookin' a' me lik I'm about teh attack yeh. The look in yer eye is some kinda fearful." His tone was sincerely serious, and his blue eyes held mine, as he stared at me. His features were oddly worn, eyes tired in a sad way as he tried to make his point clear, in one look.

"I still don't understand…"

"Listen, Rei," Jin said, and scooted around the couch to sit next to me, looking down at me with his brow furrowed. "I know you've suffered a lot of pain, an' I know that yer heart has, too."

I felt my mouth hang open dumbly, as he continued.

"An' yeh be lookin' at all of us lik we're 'bout teh attack yeh. And we ain't. And, Rei…" he paused, still staring down at me.

"Yeah?" I deadpanned.

"I ain't gonna hurt ya none. An' I ain't gonna hurt yer heart none. I'm through fightin' in this tournament, so yeh can trust me, alright?" A small smile, albeit a wry one, graced his features. "I ain't gonna let yeh down.

"An' I know it's gonna be tough when yeh see Kurama an' the rest of them figh', but yeh know wha'…?" I had looked away as he said Kurama's name, but Jin took my gloved hand in his, and squeezed it gently.

"I'm gonna be here fer ya, even when they figh'."

I stared down at his hand, and he pulled it away. I looked up into his face.

"Thank you," I said thickly, feeling as if I had a head cold. I smiled up at him, blinking furiously against a queer stinging sensation in my eyes. "You're a good friend, you know that…?"

And Jin grinned, his usual nonchalance back in full swing, along with his sense of humor.

"Ya, I know," he said offhandedly, and stretched, resting an arm across the back of the couch, behind me. "But I'm thinkin' that you an' I are somethin' more than friends, Rei…" he hinted teasingly, smirking down at me.

"Whatever you say, Jin." I felt a small, amused smile—one that was natural, not forced—creep onto my features. In my peripheral, I saw Jin's grin widen.

Then, just as quickly and easily as it had come, the carefree smile slipped off my face, and I drew a weary sigh, rubbing a hand across my forehead.

Jin seemed not to notice that much, though. He was listening to the radio broadcast. I couldn't seem to focus on what Koto was saying, or on what her protégé, Juri, was proclaiming either.

I wanted desperately to know what was going on, but here, in the hotel room with no screaming crowd, and no visual, it was just as bad as sitting in the stands of the new stadium, with a bag yanked over my head and my ears stopped up. I could only hear what the announcers were saying, and that wasn't good enough.

"Listen, Jin…" I touched his arm with my gloved fingers, peering up into his face. "You have to take me there."

Jin blinked down at me. "Where?" He asked, confused.

"The stadium. The semifinals. Before it's over," I informed him firmly, nodding once.

Jin actually laughed. "No way, Reina. You ain't fit to be travellin'…"

And then, I cracked.

"So what?" I yelled suddenly, fed up with it all, and Jin started, eyeing me in surprise. "My back's out of commission—so _what_, Jin…?"

"Yeah… yeh got a great whoppin' scar 'cross yer back. Yeh can't move around like yeh used to, Rei. It's gonna take some practice," he said slowly.

"Sooner is better than later," I proclaimed exasperatedly, throwing my arms—forcing down a wince as my back protested from the abuse—into the air. "You heard Yukina, we all did. I'm going to have it for the rest of my life, so I'm not going to _sit down_," Jin flinched at the fury in my voice, "and take it! No! I'm just going to keep on living, dammit…!"

"Yeh know how teh throw a monster of a tantrum, girly…"

"Oh, shut it, Jin!" I leapt from the couch, and leaned down into his face, head burning slightly from his closeness, the paper ward on his chest dulling the fire. "And don't ever. Call. Me. Girly. _Ever_."

"Okay, Rei. Hehe… tha' rhymed…"

"_Jin_…"

He blinked at the warning in my tone, then frowned. We held gazes for a long moment.

"Alrigh', fine. C'mon," he grumbled, rising to his feet and switching off the radio.

Though I had just claimed a victory, I wasn't smiling. The only thing I could think about was getting to the new stadium, preferably before the semifinals ended.

As a second thought, I ripped two paper wards off the wall, and shoved them in my hoodie pocket. After all, none of the demons that Jin and I would encounter would be sealing their auras for my benefit…

…And it was probably a good idea to mask my own aura, in case I ran afoul of the _last_ demon I wanted to meet…

We walked in silence down the stairs (Jin didn't like elevators, for some odd reason; he was scared of them), and I knew that he was probably not happy about this excursion. I knew that the girls would be even less pleased, but I didn't dwell on that fact. I was more than just stir-crazy. Getting out and doing _something_ was simply not an option.

"Alrigh'," Jin said, sounding annoyed, as we stepped out of the hotel, into the bright sunlight. "Up ya go."

Then he bent down, almost kneeling, and held out his arms at awkward, suspicious angles.

Crap. Piggyback.

Demons were stronger and faster than humans by nature, I knew… so I swallowed my complaints and allowed Jin to sling me (carefully) over his back. After all, we would get to the stadium faster this way, over walking.

But I was not able to stay silent when the wind started to pick up, rising into a howl around us, and most certainly not when I felt Jin begin to hover inches over the ground.

"Whoa! Down!" I yelled into his ear.

"But this 's faster…"

"No!" I yelped. "No flying…!"

And Jin descended, the wind dying, and turned to give me an irritated look.

"Whaddaya mean, 'no flyin''?" he grumbled.

"Surely a demon as strong as you can run just as fast as you can fly…" I replied, masking my hysteria with a dare.

"Well…" he grinned despite himself. "Yeah, but…"

"Then… um… commence running," I pleaded, praying that he would obey and not take off into the air. "Please?"

He considered it. Then, with a sigh, he turned his face away from me, facing the forest.

"Alrigh', Rei… but yer gonna fly one o' these days…"

Then he took off.

* * *

"We got company," Jin uttered over the wind ripping past us, as he bounded, wraithlike, through the underbrush.

I glanced about us fearfully, and Jin must've sensed my concern, because he laughed, and slowed.

"Don' ya worry, Rei. I know 'em."

And we came to an instant halt.

I wasn't one to get motion sickness very easily, but this was the longest time that I had ever been exposed to demonic speed. So when Jin set me down, I swayed on the spot and leaned against a tree for support.

"Eh… yeh alrigh', Rei…?" he asked hesitantly, seeing my dazed expression.

"In a second, maybe."

Jin eyed me warily, then turned, hearing sounds of approach that I couldn't.

"Hey, Touya, Rinku, Chu," he greeted with a wide, fanged grin, as the newcomers walked up to us.

I recognized Rinku and Chu from Team Urameshi's first match, but I had only heard of Touya, and Kurama's fight against him, so I briefly studied his appearance.

He was short by average standards, but tall to me… about half a foot taller, maybe. His hair and eyes were electric blue, and apparently he had invested a lot of "guy time" on his bangs… they were four carefully gelled spikes, dyed green and obscuring his left eye.

Rinku was a short kid. Enough said.

Close up, Chu was a giant… even taller than Kuwabara. Which was saying something. And he also seemed to be nursing the largest bottle of vodka I had ever seen—it was clasped in his too-large hand, and it was halfway empty.

Which made him stink. Which made me take a precautionary step back.

"Eh? What'cha got there, mate?" Chu slurred, grinning down at me, query directed at Jin. I edged behind Jin. "Found yerself a girl, eh…?"

"Hardly," I retorted, but grinned despite myself.

"This ain't no place fer a girl…" Chu drawled, lifting the bottle to his lips and gulping down a mouthful.

I shrugged. "I've survived this long, haven't I?" Barely.

At that, Touya chuckled, and Jin grinned. A second too late, Chu burst into a peal of raucous laughter, and Rinku rolled his eyes, playing with one of his infamous yo-yos.

"So…" I glanced about me for something to talk about, and was surprised to see an enormous, ominous form just beyond the undergrowth—apparently, Jin and I had already arrived at the new stadium.

"This's Rei," Jin introduced. "Rei, this's Touya, Chu, an' Rinku…"

"…And my name's Reina, actually," I said, rolling my eyes at Jin's nickname. Chu started laughing again—apparently, I was very funny through the haze of drunkenness. "Nice to um, meet you all…"

Touya nodded; Rinku flicked his wrist and sent his yo-yo spiraling skywards… and Chu was clutching a tree for support, gasping for breath and bursting out in laughter at random intervals.

Then, suddenly, Chu straightened up, Rinku pocketed his yo-yo, Jin stared intently into the depths of the forest, and Touya followed Jin's gaze.

"Hm," he said simply.

Then they all disappeared.

"Wha—!" I gasped, disoriented. Disturbed by the wind of their passing, a tree branch swayed in the slight breeze, and I started forward, hacking my way through the greenery.

After about minute's worth of searching, I finally burst into a clearing, and I saw them.

"What's going on… oh, hey, Keiko."

"Reina…" she said hesitantly, looking scared, and confused.

She was sitting against a tree, and was (bizarrely) clutching a seemingly unconscious Yusuke, who appeared to be snoring. Puu was propped up against the tree beside her, and upon the mention of my name, opened his eyes and chirped weakly, in recognition.

Chu and Rinku were closest to her, and Chu was kneeling, leaning into her personal space and most likely breathing rancid alcohol-breath on her, which would explain her semi-disgusted expression, and the fact that she was leaning as far as possible away from him.

"Hey, he's gotten a mite stronger," Chu observed, peering interestedly at Yusuke, suddenly sounding sober.

"Mite?" Rinku said, in his childlike voice. "What's a mite…?"

"Mite as in… I might have teh actually try if I fight 'im again," Chu said, rubbing at the stubble on his chin. Jin and Touya edged forward, and I followed suit, subconsciously. Rinku crossed his arms and smirked.

"I'd say you were trying pretty hard last time…"

At that, Chu quickly delivered a blow to Rinku's head, and Rinku whimpered, straightening his multi-hued cap and clutching his head.

"Look at 'im sleepin'," Chu laughed, and poked Yusuke's forehead.

Yusuke shifted, and mumbled, "Ouch, Keiko… that… hurt…"

Keiko looked mortified, and blushed. "Y-Yusuke…?"

"Stop treating me like a baby all the time… I'm not… a kid… any… more…" Yusuke grumbled, twitching.

There was a moment of silence.

Then we all started laughing, with the exception of Keiko, Puu, and (obviously) Yusuke.

"He is so _whipped_," Rinku announced, giggling.

"Seems like you've domesticated our mate nice an' fine, missy," Chu chuckled. "We'll leave the two of you alone, so you can get on with your… _business_…"

Keiko bristled at the insinuation. "Why is that the only thing everyone thinks a boy and a girl can do when they're alone?"

"I, for one, don't, if that's any comfort to you, Keiko," I said over the guys' laughter. "You would have to be mentally retarded to want to do anything with _that_ one…"

"Yeh sound a little jealous, girly…" Chu grinned, and lumbered over to me, dropping an arm around my shoulders. I cringed away from his toxic breath.

"And you're drunk," I accused. "I think your perspective's a little warped…"

"Reina does have a point, Chu," Touya pointed out, smirking.

"Tha' I am, an' proud of it," Chu slurred, and then he turned, and staggered back into the undergrowth, with me in tow.

"Hey! Lemme go…!"

"Reina, don't leave me alone with Yusuke!" Keiko cried desperately.

"I'm—ack!—sorry!"

* * *

Of course, this probably wasn't very smart. I was acting instinctively, impulsively... and that hadn't helped me much as of late.

It was the guys' company—which resulted in the sudden desperation to find Kurama, and exchange intelligent conversation– that made my aching legs carry me forward, inexorably, to him.

Jin hadn't been pleased to let me go off on my own, and I told him that I would scream for help if I needed him—he could sense where Kurama was, and deemed it 'not _too_ far away then, ah guess.'

I had a lock on Kurama's aura now, and behind my "one way" wards, the other auras were just a dull existence on the edge of my consciousness. Not burning, much.

I had my tickets, so I had also managed to slip past the guard at the gate, and into the stadium.

I strode swiftly in the depths of a tunnel inside the new stadium. It felt good to move my legs again, to be doing _something_ instead of cowering inside my ward-lined hotel room, praying that Karasu...

Furrowing my brow, suppressing the urge to glance nervously behind me, I concentrated harder on Kurama's aura. A one-track state of mind, that was the key. Concentrate on one thing and everything else ceased to exist...

Obviously, I was concentrating too hard. My toe snagged on a tiny dip in the terrain, and I tripped, shoulder slamming into the side of the earthy, rocky wall.

"Oh...!" I hissed; my shoulder slipping. I twisted and fell, and was instantly stunned by the pain.

My back exploded with it, a searing brand of agony slicing across my shoulder blades. It scrambled my thoughts, rendering me senseless as the breath was stolen from my lungs, and as I fell, gasping, to my knees.

_Botan tried to heal it..._

I forced my breaths to slow and deepen, squeezing my eyes shut as I lay crumpled on the ground, waiting for it to pass.

_...but it just... scarred. _

And as the pain ebbed away, the voice continued.

…_She'll carry it for the rest of her life._

Well, it was the least I could do.

I rose carefully to my feet, nerves strung to the breaking point. I gently rolled my shoulders, half expecting the searing agony again, but my back just throbbed in muted protest. And I continued on.

_Take her, look at her. It will make no difference, Hiei. She's already dead... she has no will to live._

I balked, blood freezing over, astounded that my mind could betray me so. I simply did not think about That Day, of anything associated with it. Because I knew that if I did, the weight of the consequences would crash down on me. And there would be no mercy.

Ryo's face. _"Live_._"_

Desperate for something to preoccupy myself with, I frantically dug into my hoodie pocket and yanked out the two generic paper wards I had stashed there, unfolding one with shaking fingers. I tried to study Yukina's neat handwriting, but the ink blurred before my eyes as my arm stung from my abuse, the whole bandaged length protesting with a sharp spike of pain.

The pain dulled the other, much more devastating agony that I knew was lurking in the forbidden recesses of my sub consciousness, waiting for its chance to claim me. In that way, I was able to grasp my denial, my numbness, again. And the world ceased to be real.

Instead of replacing the demonic wards, I crumpled one in each hand, sealing them inside my gloved fists, in case I needed another distraction. I was no masochist—I was not willing to ram my shoulder into the wall to escape the truth again.

_God,_ I thought miserably. _I'm a real mess._ _Hopeless._

Then, mouth popping open, mind dully registering surprise, I whipped my head up to stare at a point just ahead of me, that instantly captured my full attention.

A corner, not five feet ahead of me.

Beyond it, Kurama.

My mindless wandering had brought me closer that I had realized. And, as that fact became apparent to me, the world, and reality, gained substance again, became real and clear. It was a dangerous thing, I knew... but suddenly, bewilderingly, I didn't care.

Without me having to tell them to, my feet moved, pulling me forward.

Into a nightmare.

I could do nothing but stare, aghast, across the stretch of tunnel and into the eyes of the demon who had made my existence a very real, and very personal hell. And Karasu stared back, gaze sinister... and surprised.

Then I remembered.

I was supposed to be dead.

And now, I knew... I was going to be.

Finally, I was able to rip my gaze from his, and looked at the person in front of him, the one that Karasu had his bone white, deadly hands wrapped around the throat of. I felt the air, stale, forgotten, _whoosh_ from my lungs.

"Kurama," I choked out, stumbling forward a step, eyes wide and horrified on his frozen, strained features.

"Reina, run!" he hissed, gaze desperate and locked on mine. He didn't move... he was well aware and afraid of what Karasu's touch could do to him. He knew. I had died in his arms. He knew... and he was telling _me_ to escape, instead of using Karasu's preoccupation to free himself.

_Just like Ryo._

The name screamed through my mind like a tongue of flame, effectively incapacitating me beyond the realms of sane thought, and hopelessly out of reach of things I should be doing... like running. I couldn't move, even if I wanted to.

"I'm afraid that is... out of the question, Kurama," Karasu amended silkily. Through my handicapping haze, I felt a cold finger of fear trail down my spine, reacting to the voice from my nightmares.

"Bui..." Karasu prompted.

And, from behind me, a heavy, crippling blow.

I cried out in pain and fear as I was thrown violently forwards, the jagged scar on my back feeling like it was ripping apart, being seared with flame. I saw the ground rushing up to meet my face, and lifted an arm to block it.

I rolled against the rocky floor, blinded by the avony.

Strangling my howl of pain, feeling my face screw up from the force of it, I pushed myself off the ground and jerked my head up, staring fearfully into Karasu's eyes from my kneeling venue on the ground.

"Now, Reina," Karasu said in a falsely genial tone, eyes crinkling at my poorly concealed agony, at the situation that only he could profit from. "Your Kurama is _very_ much like our late friend Ryo, wouldn't you agree...?"

This time, Ryo's name sent a surge of blinding hatred through me, directed at Karasu. How _dare_ he... he had no right to even _think_ Ryo's name...!

"Bastard!" I hissed, surprising myself with the potency of my rage. It was bizarre to... feel again, after the numb denial.

The only reaction to my outburst was a slight hardening of violet eyes, the incredulous, faint lift of a raven eyebrow. Probably surprised that I could hate through my fear. Probably thinking that the show of blind bravery wouldn't last.

Probably right.

But he continued to speak, regardless.

"Very much like Ryo," Karasu mused, fingers still curled in a loose stranglehold around Kurama's throat. "So... revoltingly _noble_..."

He was taunting me.

"Telling you to run…"

_Frozen, on the ground, staring up into Ryo's face as his eyes glazed over with the pain-killing numbness of death, as he fell forward, down, blood staining his chest. Dripping from Karasu's fingers._

"No," I gasped, at Karasu, at the memory, closing my eyes against the two, banishing those nightmarish thoughts from my head. Vainly.

And Karasu continued.

"To save yourself..."

_Ryo's face, bloodied, completely blank... my fingers trembling as I reached out for his, as I stretched_ _my arm out across the scarlet tiles, to touch his hand for the last time..._

"_Stop_," I said, begging now. Oh, God, Ryo...!

"To leave him for _dead_..."

"_Stop it_...!" I yelled, tears stinging my eyes as they snapped open, slammed open, and Karasu's gaze burned into mine, widened from surprise at my forceful denial. He blinked, and eyed me keenly, speculatively.

"Not. Another. Word," I hissed.

And Kurama moved.

So fast it was nearly indiscernible, his arm flashed out and back, cutting through Karasu's afterimage, a split second too late.

Almost simultaneously, an impossible blow threw me into the air; my back screamed with pain as it slammed into the wall. I might've screamed, too. I don't know.

And Karasu was inches away; his presence burned through my paper protectors, my pitiful wards, and through my veins like wildfire, and I was pinned against the wall, under his arm, which was crushed immovably across my chest. Trapped.

And, as I vainly lifted my arms, trying to push him away, desperate, something crinkled in my hands.

The paper wards. In my hands.

"No, that wouldn't be wise, Kurama," Karasu advised menacingly. I looked over to see that Kurama was just straightening up from his one-armed attack, and was leaning forward in our direction, eyes wide on my face. At Karasu's words, he froze.

And Karasu lifted his free hand, and it hovered inches away from my throat.

"I could kill her before you even think about it."

I didn't doubt it.

"Reina…" Kurama whispered, looking trapped and desperate. I gritted my teeth and stared up at Karasu. The skin around his eyes were crinkled, and they flicked to meet my own.

"Now," Karasu said lazily, turning his attention back onto me. "Didn't I kill you…?"

Paper wards. In my hands. Bless you, Yukina.

"Not yet!" I snarled, and, before he knew had had hit him, I shot my left hand into the air and pressed the ward to his pale wrist.

There was a crackle of electricity, and Karasu hissed with pain and surprise, jerking automatically backwards like I had hoped he would.

I dropped to the ground, left the other ward there, and leapt to my feet, lunging for Kurama.

So fast that it was a blur, he reached out for me, and dragged me behind him, letting me go and then slinking forward a step and crouching in front of me, arms thrown out protectively, tensed, ready.

Without the wards hampering my spiritual energy, Kurama's closeness made my thoughts scatter, my head smolder. But it was nothing compared to the terror that coursed through my veins, as Karasu's malevolent gaze drew mine like a magnet, holding it there, immobile. His expression was disturbingly collected, and his eyes flashed in annoyance at my split-second escape.

He lifted his hand—the burn that the ward had left already healing, disappearing—and twitched his fingers in Kurama's and my direction.

There was a violent burst of light, swirling around his hand and twisting, serpentine, around his arm. He jerked it back, and glanced at the ground, eyeing the second ward that I had left there, unable to pass.

Then he looked back up, and his gaze burned into mine with such malice that Kurama's hand flashed back, taking my gloved left wrist, and he pulled me further behind him.

"Clever, Reina," Karasu said in a deadly voice, letting his arm fall to his side. "But useless. Bui."

And out of the shadows loomed and enormous, armored figure. His arm was bent back, fingers curled around the massive handle of an even larger axe.

And, with hardly a sound, too fast to see, the long, gleaming blade flashed through the air, and cut the ward cleanly in half. The force of the impact made the tunnel shudder, and rubble flew into the air, ricocheting off the walls. A crater was left in the floor in the weapon's wake, I noted with horrified fascination, as Bui jerked the enormous axe back up into the air, and rested it back on his shoulder.

And, eyes crinkling in anticipation, Karasu glided forward.

Immediately, Kurama began to retreat, pulling me alongside him, further into the tunnel.

"One more step," Kurama told Karasu quietly, words clear, precise, a faint quiver of anger in his voice, "and you _will_ regret it."

And Karasu paused. His eyes were unreadable.

Then, suddenly, he shifted out of his slightly crouched position, and his features fell back into their habitual expression—calculating, predatorial. I was wary of the change, and Kurama must've been too—I felt the arm that he was holding being tugged, and I was shifted behind him, again.

"This... could work to my advantage..." Karasu mused, giving Kurama an unfathomable look. "I may have been wrong... before..."

I didn't want to know what he was thinking. I knew anything that came from Karasu was never good. I had the scars to prove it. And an honorable soul was floating somewhere in the Spirit World to prove it.

"You would fight better if it were... _for_ something, wouldn't you?" Karasu asked; his query was directed at Kurama.

Kurama didn't answer.

"I was wrong to motivate you with revenge... I realize that now," Karasu said slowly, thoughtfully.

Remorse? No, that wasn't possible... Something else, surely...

"Here are my terms, then," Karasu began, blinking across the tunnel, at Kurama and me. "I will let the two of you go free... for now. But when I fight you, Kurama, and _when_ I win..."

Karasu's eyes flashed subtly, and I saw a hint of red in them.

"I will kill her."

I stopped breathing, and my eyes were fixed on Karasu's pale, strikingly angular features. They couldn't move.

I realized that he was simply trying a different tactic. Staking my life on Kurama's win... and, to that end, motivating him further. There was no remorse...

It was a change of plans.

"I won't touch her until then." Karasu's eyes glanced over at me, and I saw the smile in them. I suppressed the urge to run screaming in the opposite direction.

Kurama shifted, stood straighter. His back was taut.

"You never will."

There was a long, tense silence.

"Her amulet," Kurama uttered, and I was very glad I wasn't on the receiving end of his glare. "Return it, Karasu."

Karasu tilted his head to one side, and eyed both Kurama and I keenly. I shivered from it.

"Why not?" Karasu said with a small, amused laugh, and his hand flicked out, faster than I could see.

Kurama's free hand flashed into the air, and he caught the Barrier Stone, deftly. It swung from his fingers.

By the time I had looked back up, Karasu had vanished.

Kurama silently handed me the pendant, and I took it. I took a cautionary step back, twisting my arm out of his grasp—Kurama's aura was smoldering my thoughts—and just as silently slipped the chain over my head.

And, without a word, Kurama beckoned me to follow him, and set off down the tunnel.

* * *

We had walked a long way.

Kurama and I had stuck to the trail, still silent, but he had suddenly swerved off of the beaten path, and gestured for me to follow.

After a few minutes of hacking our way through the dense undergrowth (the hacking only applied to me; Kurama seemed to dodge every single thorn that was in his way) we had emerged into a brightly lit clearing. Long grass covered every inch of it—the long tendrils reached my waist—but it eventually thinned out into a clearing. There was an old dead tree lying on its side in the middle of the clearing, and that was where we sat.

And now... the silence continued.

I tentatively glanced over at him, at the side of his face I could see. It betrayed nothing—no thought, no emotion, no nothing.

But as for me... that was another story.

There was something profoundly _real _about Kurama—his presence broke through my careful denial, and gave the world clarity, made my blood run with emotion. It was a terrible thing... if I lost the numbness, I lost my sanity.

"Karasu."

His voice was strange. It was one forced into quiet composure—and I could see the effort that it took.

"What about him?"

My voice was also careful.

Kurama looked up. And into my eyes. And I leaned away from him.

It was like looking into the face of a corpse. His eyes were faded, haunted—none of the anger that he had shown before, in the tunnel, was visible. His face was a tomb.

"Karasu was the one who attacked you."

I blinked at the statement. It wasn't a question... but it implied new knowledge, on his part.

"I thought you knew that..." I replied hesitantly, frowning. I wanted to look away from his grim features, but I couldn't. "I thought that Hiei would've told the lot of you... he was there, he talked to Karasu..." My voice trailed off, and my frown deepened, and I bit down on my bottom lip.

"He didn't tell me," Kurama intoned, still giving me the level, unexplainable look. Then, it softened and he looked away. "Though... I understand why."

"Then... why?" I asked.

Kurama shook his head. "He was worried about me losing my focus. And yes, it angers me that he attacked you—more than I can describe. But I am more focused than ever, because I will be the one to kill him."

There was a harshness in his voice that made me draw back a little. I averted my gaze as we lapsed into silence again.

"Reina?"

"Yeah?" I looked up at him, lifting an eyebrow. Suddenly, he seemed more grim than before.

"I need you to tell me something."

I was instantly wary of his intentions. Of course he would want a blow-by-blow account of the attack… it was just like Kurama to analyze such things.

But the thing was… I didn't want to relive it again.

"Alright…" I said hesitantly, preparing myself for making a firm and final "no" if he so much as breathed Karasu's name, or Ryo's.

I bit my lip.

"When Karasu… attacked you…"

Of course.

"…did he say why? Did he give you a reason for… singling you out…?"

Kurama's eyes questioned me. I realized, that if I didn't answer now, he would ask me later. Again and again, until he got a response. So I gave in, chewing my bottom lip and staring at my hands.

"Yes."

Another silence.

"Why?" Kurama asked gently.

"_Why me?" My mouth was dry. My hands were shaking._

_Karasu eyed me, amused. "You are a victim of ignorance, Reina. You see… that boy, your Kurama…"_

"_Loves you."_

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "It's… ridiculous, Kurama. Karasu's a bad liar," I said dully, waving my hand dismissively. "It's nothing that you should concern yourself with. Honestly." To my chagrin, I felt a blush creep up on me, staining my cheeks red. Kurama noticed that, and pressed:

"Perhaps I shouldn't, but I'm going to regardless," he said quietly, and something in his voice made me look at him. I sensed a double meaning, and wondered why.

"Seriously… Karasu's insane. Don't bother yourself with the ravings of a madman."

"Reina… please." Kurama's eyes held mine. "I need to know this."

He didn't look like he was going to give up anytime soon. I felt the flush fade from my face, and I shook my head, resigning myself.

"Alright… but, listen… I know what he said was a lie, so you don't need to worry about… well… I'll just tell you," I finished, aggravated that I couldn't put my thoughts into words, without sounding too mushy.

"Please elaborate."

"…_Loves you."_

I am never going to live this down.

"Ah… well…" I said awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck with my good hand, chewing on the inside of my lip. "He said that you… oh, it's ridiculous… he said that you … loved… me."

There, it was out. And the unfathomable expression on Kurama's face didn't help.

"But I know it's ridiculous," I said hurriedly, forcing a small, amused grin, though something in me stirred at how he didn't deny it immediately. I knew it was foolish to think that way, though.

I mean, he couldn't possibly…

…_Could_ he?

Kurama's expression didn't change. I started to get nervous, and fumbled into a hesitantly, desperately hopeful silence.

Then, Kurama bent forward, and held his head in his hands. He spoke.

"Karasu is vile, and twisted... but he is not a liar."

I could only stare at him. I could only think about the words he had said, and the meaning behind them. Hardly believing it.

But before I could say anything, he turned to me and smiled.

"However, I do not plan on acting on it. I've been… ignoring it. There is no need to worry." His expression was wry.

I had to avert my gaze, unable to look at him. My heart was pounding so fast it was almost a single sustained note… my fingers were trembling; my face was flushed.

Kurama could hear my accelerated pulse, because he asked, very quietly:

"Reina…? Is… something wrong?"

I ground down on my bottom lip, then drew a deep, shaky breath, and stood. I didn't make eye contact.

"I… don't want you to ignore it," I whispered. I clasped my hands in front of me and bowed my head, letting my hair fall around my cheeks, hiding the crimson stains there. "Kurama… I don't want you to ignore it," I repeated, "because the way you feel… it's reciprocated." I heard him suck in a startled breath, and turned.

His expression was one of shock and conflict. I drew another steadying breath.

"I've been trying to ignore it too," I admitted. "For so long… I wasn't even sure until recently that I actually _had_ those feelings. Because, really," I laughed once, a tad bit hysterically as he continued to stare at me with an unfathomable expression on his face, "why would _you—_a demon, a very powerful one at that—have any feelings for me? I'm… human, weak, not exactly _impressive_... It didn't make sense. So, I didn't even entertain the idea… until now…"

I trailed off into silence as I saw a muscle in his jaw twitch. He closed his eyes, sighed heavily, and stood, staring down at me.

"Reina," he said kindly, "It is one thing for me to feel this way, but it is something else entirely for _you_ to feel the same." He shook his head. "Nothing will come of this, Reina."

My heart froze inside my chest, and slowly began to sink. "What?" I managed. "But… _why_?"

He smiled sadly. "I have many enemies, Reina. Very powerful, very _capable_ enemies. I've ignored my own feelings all this time so they wouldn't see it… and use you against me. You would be in unspeakable danger if we were…" He trailed off into silence, watching me carefully.

"I'm not afraid, Kurama," I whispered.

"Reina—"

"—No, shut it and _listen to me_," I interrupted. He waited. I looked him straight in the eye, and tried to swallow the nervous, hurt feelings welling up in my chest. "I don't care about them. I don't care about the danger. _Obviously_. I almost got _killed_ by Karasu—" His expression twitched at that; his eyes hardened.

"—but, _I'm still here_. I'm not going anywhere, Kurama. I'm here, for _you_. Because I _want_ to be here..."

I was breathing heavily, and my pulse was thunderous. I put a hand on my heart to try to still it. Then I let it drop, and set my jaw.

"I am _not_ afraid," I repeated.

He shook his head slowly, and stepped towards me. I tensed as his hand came up to touch my cheek. His thumb brushed over my jaw, and his eyes were ancient in their sadness.

"I can see that, Reina," he said quietly. "But _I_ am." His hand dropped. "I will gladly give up pursuing a relationship with you, if it means that I don't have to lose you completely to an enemy I couldn't protect you from. I will do so gratefully, even. I have already made my decision."

"And I've made mine," I whispered. My eyes burned. "Would it kill you to be a little more reckless, Kurama?"

He didn't answer, just stared at me. Then his hand dropped from my face suddenly. Its absence made me hurt in ways I had never ached before.

"Hey! Kurama, Sparky…!"

Kurama and I glanced up, as Kuwabara came lumbering into view, out of breath, worry furrowing his brow.

"'Bout _time_ I found one of you guys! C'mon, _tell_ me you saw Urameshi run by…" He wheezed, bent double, looking up at us. "Oh…" he straightened up, and looked between us. "Uh… am I interrupting somethin'? 'Cause I can just, you know…" He started to edge away.

I swallowed my hurt and humiliation and turned towards him, wrenching a smile on my face. "No," I said. My voice was a little shaky. I coughed, and said: "No, Kuwabara, apparently not. What's going on?"

Kuwabara sighed heavily. "Damn—eh, sorry, Sparky—but this is like…" he screwed up his face, trying to think of a proper description, "…one of those… wild goose… thingies. I was following some huge mega energy and then it all _vanished_." Kuwabara crossed his arms, frowning.

"Well, that's not too devastating…" I said, trying to be diplomatic, and failing miserably. I crossed my arms.

"Yeah it is!" Kuwabara protested, waving his arms. "Genkai said some weird stuff and Yusuke wouldn't say _nothin'_ when he got up and he followed her! He was _angry_!"

"We all know Yusuke's not a morning person…" I shrugged. "And who's Genkai… that name sounds familiar…"

I glanced up at Kurama out of habit; he was usually the one to explain the unknowns to me, but his eyes were unfocused and he seemed to be in deep thought. I averted my gaze quickly as something stirred in my chest, wrenching painfully.

"Genkai's Yusuke's trainer," Kuwabara answered. "She's the Masked Fighter. And speakin' of Yusuke…"

"It's probably no big deal," I interrupted, rolling my eyes. "You're making a fuss over nothing, Kuwabara."

Kuwabara gave me a long, hard look. "You'd tell me if he was hidin' from me, wouldn't you, Sparky…?"

I smiled wryly "Maybe if you dropped the ridiculous nickname…"

"Who's there?" Kurama asked suddenly, turning around and peering into the forest.

And a tall, lean figure detached from the shadows, looking at the three of us with obvious boredom.

"Just the guys I wanted to see. Lucky me."

Well, I certainly didn't know this demon, and, judging from Kurama and Kuwabara's expressions, they didn't either.

The demon began to walk towards us.

"Hey! You better answer his question!" Kuwabara growled, stepping forward, slipping into a defensive stance. I curled my fingers around the newly retrieved Barrier Stone, and prepared to cast if off at a moment's notice.

The demon stopped advancing, and looked at us. "What? Don't you recognize the _Beautiful_ Suzuka…?"

"What a way to introduce yourself," I murmured in undertone, frowning at this "Beautiful" Suzuka. Obviously hearing me, the demon glowered at me with green eyes, through a tuft of blonde hair.

"Oh, hey! That's right… I see the resemblance now!" Kuwabara said, jabbing a finger in Suzuka's face, apparently recognizing the name. "You're the guy who got his face turned into pudding by Genkai… hehe… nice _clown_ suit…"

I didn't know what the heck Kuwabara was talking about, and probably didn't want to know.

Suzuka's frown deepened. "Watch yourself, simple human boy… it's against Spirit World law to say my name without putting a _beautiful_ in front of it."

I tried to resist laughing, and failed miserably. Kuwabara and I exchanged amused glances. Suzuka sighed.

"Well, I don't like talking with simpletons, so I'll make it short. I learned in my last fight that I'm not able to fight the way you do… and all my gifts and strengths are _useless_ against brute force…"

Well, obviously. He was almost entirely encased in bandages. He saw my amused smirk and sighed again.

"No wonder you think of me as a clown…"

"I thought you were going to make it short," I said, lifting an eyebrow, after a long moment of dramatic silence, during which Suzuka gazed at the clouds with an uninterested air. At my tone, he looked back down, and opened his mouth to reprimand me for my lack of respect in the "Beautiful Suzuka's" presence.

"What she means is…" Kurama cut in, before any more fragile egos could be deflated, "our patience grows thin, my friend. You must tell us why you're here."

Suzuka rolled his eyes. "Your type is so incapable of good conversation. Very well…"

And he reached into his pocket, and pulled out a jar of purplish-red liquid. Something mysterious and undeniably _nasty_ floated in its depths. I made a face.

And, with his other hand, he reached into his other pocket, and pulled out a short, blunt object. It looked like a polished stick.

"These are my gifts to you." And he offered the objects to Kurama and Kuwabara. They took them after a moment of hesitation, and I took a precautionary step away from Kurama, who was holding the jar.

"Could you elaborate?" Kurama asked, tilting the jar slightly, and the mysterious object inside it bobbed up and down in the murky liquid.

"Yeah… who cares about a fancy ruler?" Kuwabara asked, turning the stick-like object in his hands.

With another sigh, Suzuka did elaborate. "It's a hilt, you dolt. They're the starting points for the two items that I gave my own team." He looked at Kurama. "The bottle, Kurama, contains the Fruit of the Previous Life… handpicked from the upper realms of the Spirit World. It's the base ingredient for the smoke of the Idunn Box… which you encountered earlier today… and drinking it will turn you into your demon form.

"And that one…" Suzuka said, nodding to Kuwabara, "is called the Trial Sword. It's made from the wood of a tree that grew to great heights… from absorbing the surrounding life."

"EEEEWWWWW!" Kuwabara cried, holding the hilt at arm's length and eyeing it as if it were a poisonous spider. "That sounds _really_ creepy! I don't want to hold that…!" And he threw it from him. With a casual flick of his wrist, Suzuka caught the hilt and gave Kuwabara a nasty look.

"For Shishiwakamaru, it became the Banshee Shriek. For you, it'll be much different," Suzuka retorted, and tossed the hilt back into Kuwabara's unwilling hands.

Kuwabara juggled it. "But I don't-"

"Oh, get a grip, Kuwabara!" I exclaimed finally, exasperated. I snagged his wrist, and closed his hand around the hilt. "It's an inanimate object… it's not going to bite you…"

"No, it's not! It's gonna _EAT MY FACE OFF_…!"

"If you allow me the pleasure of a few more words, I'll give you a warning," Suzuka interrupted, watching Kuwabara's and my argument with disdain. "The last fight was the first time that these items were used. I don't know what the side effects are."

And, with that, he turned and began to walk away.

"So we're guinea pigs now?" Kuwabara called after him, eyeing the hilt with disgust.

Suzuka paused, and looked back at us. "Only if you decide to use the help." He started to leave again.

"But why would you want to help us?" Kurama asked matter-of-factly, lifting an eyebrow.

There was a silence.

"Because I dislike you. But I _hate_ Toguro," Suzuka answered, and turned back around to give us a level look. "It only took three percent of his _repulsive_ strength to make a fool out of me." He sighed. "The insult to my pride was death. So I spent decades refining my techniques and gathering all the enchanted items that I could… but it was obviously a wasted effort. You easily defeated me before I could fight him again…"

Suzuka turned completely around, and his voice rose, as he lifted a fist. "But if my own body can't beat him, then my items _can_! I want you to show him that ingenuity and _sophistication_," he spat the word, "can win over strength. Change his mind. Show him that underdogs _can_ win."

And, without another word, Suzuka turned and retreated into the forest.

* * *

Shortly after that, Kuwabara lumbered off in search of Yusuke and Genkai, and Kurama wordlessly led me out of the clearing, and back onto the path.

I knew that it had only taken minutes for Jin to reach the new stadium on foot, but we weren't travelling with demonic speed. Kurama kept pace with me, and we walked silently.

For two hours.

Two hours that I had to think about what had transpired today, and how stupid and childish I was being, for avoiding Kurama's gaze, for refusing to speak.

But I couldn't bring myself to talk to him. He walked me back to my hotel room, and I just gave him a curt nod and mumbled a grudging "Thank you" before closing the door in his face, and locking it.

I turned and leaned back against the door, and slid to the floor. My face burned. I buried it in my hands.

"Oh, _holy_…" I moaned.

* * *

**(1) Tyson Chicken Rocks is a real, highly addictive card game that my sister and her friends introduced me to. I'll post rules on how to play it on my profile, later, if you want to learn. ^^**

**Basically, when the cards are "in play" no one participating can talk. If you do, you get a penalty, which is a card. (The object of the game is to get rid of all of your cards.) That's why Jin was making such a big deal out of Reina's talking, because the cards were "in play".**

**And that, folks, is what I learned in Geometry class :D**

**Haha, leave a review on your way out! Did you like how things got tied up? Realistic enough? I would love to hear your feedback! :)**


	23. Alter Egos

**Many thanks to _Beryl Bloodstone, MizuKaji, Takara Rose Oizumi, RandomCitizen, nevvy, bijouie, Wolf-Maiden Mitsuki, Otaku-neku, Wild-Cheesecake, Delu, pourquoibella, LadyEve, unknown player,_ and _Oakensheild_ for reviewing!**

**Also… who likes Youko? And Kuronue? I do! :D**

**Have a nice read!**

* * *

_"I recognize in thieves, traitors and murderers, in the ruthless and the cunning, a deep beauty—a sunken beauty."_

_-Jean Genet_

Alter-Egos

* * *

"Reina… what's wrong?"

I grumbled unintelligibly into my pillow, shame weighing down on me like a physical weight.

Yukina touched my shoulder. "Are you okay?" she asked hesitantly.

"Humiliated," I murmured. "Hurt. Embarrassed. Not okay, not at _all_."

I heard Botan walk into the room, felt her sit on the edge of my bed. "Tell us what's wrong," she urged gently.

I sighed, and pushed myself into a sitting position, leaning against the headboard.

"Kurama told me… that he had… feelings… for me."

Yukina and Botan gasped in unison; Botan grinned widely.

"I _knew_ it!" she crowed.

Yukina still looked worried. "Then… what's wrong?" she asked.

I sighed and brought my knees up to my chin. "I told him I felt the same way…" A shaky sigh escaped my lips, "and he said he didn't… _want_ to be… you know…"

_"Aww," _Botan and Yukina said in unison, looking appropriately sympathetic. Botan leaned over and gave me a hug.

"And now I don't even know if he wants to be my friend because now it's awkward and…" I crossed my arms over my head. "I thought things were going to be terrific, but now it just _sucks_… on top of _everything_ else, now I have to worry about _this_… I mean," I glanced up, and jerked a thumb to point at my back—I had taken off the last round of bandages as soon as I'd gotten back, and hadn't replaced them now that the wounds were closed. They still ached, though. "Got freaking _Karasu_ out to kill me, the boys could _die_ at any second, and the way some of the fights go, we could _all_ die just by being too close—"

"Reina."

I glanced up. Shizuru was leaning in the doorway, smoking a cigarette.

"What?" I asked.

She stared at me for a long moment.

"You need to get shitfaced," she said simply, and walked out of the room. "We all do. I'll back with the booze."

* * *

I couldn't really feel my extremities anymore. Puu had abandoned us a long time ago, now perched on one of the blades of the ceiling fan above our heads, staring down at us suspiciously and chittering nervously at our drunken antics.

Shizuru lined up shot glasses and poured amber liquid into each of them, spilling most of it on the coffee table. "Drink up, ladies."

Keiko had been hesitant at first, but she beat the rest of us to downing her share. She slammed her glass back down on the table as the rest of us were still swallowing.

Then she started bawling.

Botan lunged towards her. "What's wrooooong…?" she slurred.

"Yusuke," Keiko sobbed. Then suddenly she gained control of herself, glaring at us. "Yusuke is such… such a _bastard_!"

We all stared at her as she poured her own shot and drank it in a flourish.

"So is Kura…ra..llama," I grumbled indignantly, tripping over his name and taking a sip of the opened beer next to me. "Why are these guys so _stupid_?" I reached for the glass of wine I had left on the coffee table—now half empty.

"Tell us what he said," Yukina suggested, taking a dainty sip of some vodka and grimacing ever-so-slightly. Her voice didn't slur at all. Probably because she was a demon with a freakishly high metabolism… she'd drank just as much as the rest of us.

"_WELL_," I began, slapping my beer down on the table, "He said that he _loved_ me, but then he said he didn't _want _me, and then I walked back here with him and it took _two hours_," I rambled. "And we didn't talk at _all_. It was soooo _awkward_," I finished dramatically.

"Oh my GAWD," Botan cried, crawling across the couch towards me, She rested her head on my shoulder. "That sounds really, _really_ awkward! I would've _died_!"

"I guess I'm just not… pretty enough…" I mumbled, and then picked up my beer and downed the rest of it. I tossed the empty can across the room; it bounced off the counter in the kitchenette and fell in the sink.

Totally meant to do that.

Botan jumped to her feet. "No! You're gorgeous!" she gasped.

"You're my lady-friend," I said matter-of-factly, rummaging around for the jello shots. "It doesn't _count_ when you say it."

"Then I'll find a _guy_ who'll say it!" she exclaimed courageously, and ran towards the balcony, tripping over the ottoman. Her oar flickered into existence, and Shizuru shot to her feet.

"Wait! No!" she shouted, giving chase.

Botan threw open the door to the balcony, climbed on her oar, and took off, swirling haphazardly through the air.

"You need a designated flier, Botan!" I shouted, and at that, Keiko melted into a puddle of giggly mush. I started laughing too, and reached for the wineglass again. "Stupid Brit…" I mumbled around the rim, and snorted.

Shizuru whirled on us, then sighed, massaging her temples. "Okay, time for bread and water. You girls are just _too _much fun..."

"Awwwwwww," Keiko and I chorused as Shizuru started gathering up the alcohol.

She tossed us a loaf of bread. "Split it in half, and both of you, _eat_. I'll go get some water."

I sullenly split the bread and took a mouthful out of my half. Just when it was getting fun…

"I'm baaaaaaack!" Botan cried, sailing into the room on her oar. Puu screeched frantically and dove to escape her as she flew dangerously close to the ceiling fan. Her oar _popped_ out of existence, and she fell on the now-empty coffee table, bouncing once and rolling off. She laid there on the floor, laughing hysterically.

"Mah _God_," Jin said, wrinkling his nose as he walked in the room. "This room smells a mite worse than _Chu_… have you lot been _drinkin'_?" he asked incredulously, looking around at us—Yukina sitting primly on the recliner, Keiko now sitting upside-down on the couch, her legs hanging over the back of it, Botan sprawled on the floor and wheezing with laughter, and me leaning heavily against the armrest of the couch, a hunk of bread hanging out of my mouth.

I spat it out. "You freaking _bet_! It's—it's—" I struggled for the right word. I leaned forward a bit and toppled over onto the floor, then looked at him upside-down. He looked silly.

"_SPLENDID,"_ I bellowed, then burst into laughter.

Jin grinned widely at my mirth. "Well, if you lot have been drinkin', is there any chance that Reina's gotten horny yet…?"

Botan threw a pillow at him, and shot to her feet, getting in his face. "That's _NOT_ what I brought you here for, you pervert!" she shouted, and Shizuru bolted back into the room. She looked very frazzled.

"Alrigh', _alrigh'_!" Jin said frantically, lifting his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Reina's heart belongs to _another_!" Keiko cried tearfully, and then shoved a giant chunk of bread in her mouth.

"Ah _get_ it!" Jin said, panicked. "Ah know she an' Kurama—"

"—_NO_!" Botan shouted, interrupting him as I watched interestedly. They were tilted slightly. I twisted my head to look at them better, squinting. "You can't _say_ that name here! This is Reina's _sanctuary_!"

"Then what th' _hell_ did ya bring me 'ere for?" Jin asked, throwing his arms up in the air.

Botan jabbed her finger in his face. "Tell Reina she looks _pretty_," she ordered.

There was a long silence. I tore another piece of bread from my half-loaf, contented to watch the proceedings in silence.

Jin looked at me. "Wha…" he said helplessly. "But ah…"

"Kurama rejected her," Yukina said simply. She sipped the water Shizuru handed to her, and nibbled on a cracker. "Her pride is suffering."

"It's not _that_ bad," I mumbled around my bread, flipping over and sitting Indian-style when Shizuru waved at me. I had to lean against the couch so I wouldn't fall over. Why was the floor so tilted? This building wasn't structurally sound… I sipped on my water, and spilled some of it on my shirt. Shizuru sighed heavily.

Jin shrugged and walked over to me, kneeling in front of me and staring straight into my eyes. His face was inches away from mine.

"Yer one o' the pretties gals ah ever saw," Jin said, and grinned widely. "Yeh know, if yer lookin' fer a guy t' be with, ah kin fly us to th' nearest city hall…."

"I don't wanna _marry_ you!" I burst out, reaching out and punching him playfully. "Our kids would have _horns_!" Jin recoiled, looking disgruntled.

"But they would have Kurama's hair color," Keiko added.

I studied Jin. "True…" I shoved the last piece of bread in my mouth, and chased it down with some water. Jin sighed heavily, looking very disappointed.

"Alright, time for bed," Shizuru said. She was walking perfectly straight, her speech not slurred at all. She had drank a _lot_ more than the rest of us, though… I guessed she was used to it.

Jin, still looking very confused about everything, made for the window. I grabbed his leg.

"Don't leave!" I whimpered.

Jin sighed heavily. "Alrigh', up ya go."

He propped me up on the couch and sat next to me, putting an arm around my shoulders. I buried my face against his shoulder, and closed my eyes.

"Wha', now yer gonna sleep on me?" Jin asked.

"Uh-huh."

"Alrigh'." He shifted a little to get more comfortable, and tilted his head back.

I drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

Some time later, I woke up halfway, a little groggy. Shizuru was talking to someone.

"Shizuru, these girls are underage," a disapproving voice said.

Someone sighed. I smelled cigarette smoke. "Yep. I know."

There was a long silence.

"…How is she?"

"Cuddling on the couch with Jin. Pretty bad off."

"Ah." A pause. "I see."

"Don't act like you're jealous. You rejected her. She's suffering. You have no right to be jealous, fox boy." Another long pause. "Oh, dammit. She's not even interested in him. You've hurt her a lot, though."

"I know." The voice sounded regretful. "I brought something to help the… hangover. I didn't use a demonic plant, so Reina can take it too."

I drifted back to sleep.

A little while later—how much time passed exactly I didn't know—someone shook me awake and held something to my lips. I drank it with no complaint. My tongue was thick; I couldn't really taste anything anymore. It tasted like green.

I fell asleep again.

* * *

_I had been here before._

_It was the core of my mind, my consciousness, and my subconsciousness. I had been dreading visiting this place... there were new complications now, and I didn't want to think about them._

_Whoever said sleep was an escape? Your dreams can tell you things... that you don't even know._

"_You again."_

_I cracked an eye open, and was—for the second time—staring into the face of a demon that I hadn't even met... at least, not in real life._

"_I would say the same, but that would be redundant," I replied, frowning. This dream was getting old. My mental state was the _last_ thing I wanted to be worried about, especially when, tomorrow, my fate would be sealed. Whichever way it decided to go._

_Kuronue's frown mirrored mine. "You're not very perturbed," he noted._

"_Should I be?"_

_At that, Kuronue grinned. "You're human, I'm a demon, and you don't even know me. I could kill you... if it were even possible."_

"_'Even possible'…?" I echoed, standing out of my seating position on the dark tiles, and looked up at him. "Pardon me for asking so bluntly, almighty demon…" Kuronue grinned at the sarcasm, "but what's that supposed to mean?"_

"_We're already dead." He gave me a look as if he was worried about my mental health. "You dumped all of your life energy in here, right, whoever you are?"_

"_It's Reina. And where _is_ here, anyway?" I frowned, and crossed my arms. My back didn't hurt at all, here in my dreams—though I could feel a tightness that told me that the scar was still there. "And though I had a good reason to assume I was dead yesterday, I'm _pretty_ sure I'm not dead right now."_

"_The amulet. Barrier Stone. Stealth Pendant. Whatever you call it," Kuronue replied, his wings shifting a bit and throwing spark-like tendrils of his aura into the darkness. "_That_ is where we are. We're inside it. And you're probably dead, like me and Masuyo, but you just don't realize it."_

"_Um… Kuronue…"_

"_How do you know my name?" he asked suddenly, interrupting my train of thought._

_I waved my hand dismissively, annoyed. "Kurama told me… he described you to me…"_

"_How do you know Kurama?"_

"_Who are you, his mother?" I retorted, frowning. "Seriously, how can dreams be so _annoying_…?"_

"_I'm not a dream." Kuronue barely batted an eye at my cut. "And you didn't answer my question. What is Kurama doing in the Human World?"_

"_That's another question."_

"_Same difference."_

_Kuronue and I glowered at each other. I gave in with a weary sigh._

"_Fine. Kurama's in the Human World because he is, essentially, a human now."_

"_How?"_

"_Give me a second to breathe, will you?" I growled, irritated. This wasn't a pseudo-Hiei level of annoyance; this was an entirely different level of irritation. "No more interruptions. Got it?"_

"_My lips are sealed."_

_I eyed him, wary of any falsehood, but he seemed to be waiting patiently._

"_Alright." I let my arms fall to my sides. "Kurama ran across a bounty hunter, when he was still known as Youko Kurama." Kuronue nodded at the reference. "… Anyway, the hunter somehow got the best of him, and Kurama was too wounded to evade him. So, he assumed spirit form and escaped to the Human World, where he possessed a human in utero. I met him fifteen years after that."_

"_Kurama's a teenager?" Kuronue asked, smirking at what was probably a mental image of Kurama with acne._

"_That's right. And now…" I re-crossed my arms. "Who is this… Masuyo person, irritating figment of my imagination…?"_

"_You're dead. You should get used to the idea… you're going to be in here a while." Kuronue then glanced off at something behind him, something too far away for me to see. "Masuyo was the former owner of the Stealth Pendant… and she committed suicide like I did."_

"_Suicide?" I reached out and tapped his arm, to get his attention, and again marveled at the fact that his presence didn't pull on my defense. "Kurama told me that you were killed in a raid…"_

"_Sort of. But you want to know who Masuyo is, right…?" Kuronue turned to look back down at me, and lifted a raven eyebrow._

"_So I can meet her?"_

"_Sure. I have a feeling that she'll let down her defenses for you…" Kuronue rolled his eyes. "But she set up a force field so _I_ can't see her."_

"_What makes me so different? She's obviously not a people person."_

"_I have a theory." Kuronue looked back off into the oblivion, at where I guessed this Masuyo was residing. "But I want to prove it before I tell you, so you can't say I was wrong."_

"_Smart."_

"_Yes, I get that a lot," Kuronue smirked and looked back down at me. He held out an arm. "Coming?"_

"_Lead the way."_

_His smirk widened. "It's a long way… and it's easier to fly." To that end, he unfurled his wings, and they flapped ominously. I backed away._

"_Not falling for that one. One of my friends can fly, too, and I don't even trust _him_…"_

_But, apparently, I didn't have a choice in the matter. Before I could blink, he had bent down, knocked my legs out from under me, and then dumped me across his back like I was a sack of potatoes._

"_HEY PUT ME DOWN…!"_

"_Hold on."_

_And as Kuronue crouched, wings stiffening on either side of us, I locked my arms in a death-grip around his neck and squeezed my eyes shut, praying that I would wake up before…_

_No such luck._

_Kuronue sprang into the air, leaving a trail of our auras—red and blue—swirling behind us._

_I didn't have to open my eyes to see that—in here, you simply knew where your aura was; it was an instinct—and I didn't want to open my eyes to see how fast we were going, so that worked nicely._

_But I had an idea of the speed; I could feel the wind whipping in my face, hear it howl in my ears._

_Then, seemingly seconds after he had taken off, I felt us come to a standstill, and his wings closed._

"_You can let go now."_

_I obeyed, and, naturally, fell on my rear end. I glowered up at Kuronue, who was not bothering to hide his amusement at my failure. He was partly to blame—what with his being seven or eight feet tall. It was freakish._

"_Don't laugh. You have a broken ass to pay for."_

_Kuronue didn't bother responding; he simply turned and pointed at what was in front of us._

_The size of the dome was indiscernible—the top reached far beyond what I could see, and when I leaned over to see how far it went, the sides of it simply faded into nothing. _

_And then there was another thing._

_It was the same exact shade of my aura—electric blue, swimming with hints of white and silver. And it also _felt_ familiar… as if the presence was something that I had known before… but couldn't quite name. Gaping, I stumbled to my feet._

"_Go on."_

_I looked up at Kuronue, and he nodded._

"_It won't let me through, but I think it'll let you. Go."_

_My eyes flicked between Kuronue and the dome, questioning the sincerity of his statement and wondering if I really wanted to go in there. Despite the familiarity, it looked ominous._

_But I didn't want to look like a coward, so I stepped forward…_

_Lfted my hand…_

_My fingers brushed the surface of the force field. It ebbed in eddies and swirls around them, and it was cool, like a soft breeze. I glanced back up at Kuronue, and he nodded again._

_And I took another step forward._

* * *

"Rei, wake up," someone muttered, shaking me. I woke with a start, and winced—my head throbbed a little.

_THUMP. THUMP. THUMP._

"Someone's a' the door," Jin whispered. "Ah think it's Kurama." He paused, pointed ears twitching as he tilted his head slightly. He sniffed once, and wrinkled his nose a little. "Yah, definitely Kurama. Want me to tell 'im to go t' hell…?"

I blinked groggily up at him. "What…? No..."

He visibly cringed. "_Gawd_, woman—go brush yer teeth!"

I blushed and rose to my feet. Cool, I could walk without falling over. I headed to the bathroom.

"Tell him I'll be there in a second," I whispered as I disappeared into the bathroom.

"Alrigh'," Jin answered. I heard him rise.

There was a clock in the bathroom. It read 3:12—in the morning. My sleep schedule was _so_ screwed up now…

I hurriedly brushed my teeth and gargled some mouthwash, after swallowing some pain pills for the lingering headache. Then I walked back into the living room. Jin and Kurama were standing in there, talking quietly to each other. They both glanced up as I entered the room.

"Reina," Kurama said in greeting, taking a few steps toward me. He hesitated. "Does your head hurt? I gave Shizuru a tonic for you to take—it should've helped the hangover."

"It doesn't hurt too much," I murmured. "Thanks… She gave it to me. It worked." I smiled unconvincingly.

There was a long silence, then Jin stretched.

"Alrigh', ah'll be leavin' now. See ya later Rei', Kurama," he said, and walked out the door before I could say anything. I stared at the floor.

"I need your help, Reina," Kurama said softly. "Only if you're willing, though."

"With what?"

"I'll explain on the way… there isn't much time," he said quietly, and lifted an eyebrow.

I heaved a sharp sigh. "Fine. Let me leave a note." It was still too hard to say no to him. I walked over to the kitchenette, and heard Kurama follow me quietly.

I scribbled a note to the girls and left it on the counter, then turned. Kurama was staring at me.

"What?" I mumbled.

"I apologize," he answered, sounding sad. "I hope you know that I mean well."

"Yeah. Right," I grumbled miserably.

* * *

"Alright, you're going to explain yourself right now," I ordered, staring suspiciously at the jar in his hand, in the dim light of the elevator.

I recognized the vial. It was the one that Suzuka had given Kurama… the one that (or so Suzuka claimed) would revert Kurama back to his demonic form. The form that he originally existed as… when he was a demon bandit from Makai. Otherwise known as Youko Kurama.

Botan had filled me in on what I had missed in the semifinals, after I had gotten back to the hotel room. Apparently, Kurama _had_ become Youko—his former, fully demonic self—during his fight, when he encountered the smoke from the Idunn Box.

The source of the mysterious mist was in its concentrated form, clutched loosely in Kurama's hand.

"I have… decided to test Suzuka's credibility."

"By using yourself as a guinea pig?" I asked flatly. "Kurama, you're the smartest guy I know, demonic or otherwise… but I have to tell you that this is _incredibly_ stupid."

"It may be the only way to defeat Karasu," Kurama said, just as flatly, lifting an eyebrow.

There was a pregnant pause.

"So why am I here?" I asked carefully, glancing up at the electronic screen over the elevator doors. We were still on the third floor, still descending.

Kurama studied me for a second.

"I need to know…" he said hesitantly, "how long I can remain in my demonic form. And, what's more…" he grinned suddenly, and I automatically recoiled, "I want you to meet Youko."

More silence followed the bizarre statement, and I gave him a long, confused look.

"What do you mean 'meet _Youko_'?" I asked, puzzlement clouding my tone. "I mean…"

At that moment, the elevator reached ground level, and, with a _ping_, the doors swished open. Kurama exited ahead of me, glancing back to see if I was following. I stepped out to his side, looking up at him, still confused.

"…This… 'Youko' as you refer to him, in third person—which is very weird in itself, I might add—is, essentially, _you_…" I lifted an eyebrow. "And I met you a long time ago, Kurama. So… frankly… what the hell do you mean by that?"

Kurama smiled a bit at my cursing, and held the lobby door open for me. I stepped out into the night, walking backwards to continue my look of perplexity.

"What I am saying, Reina… is that I am not… Youko. We are not one person… not really."

I halted in the middle of walking, and gave him a blank look.

"So... what exactly... _are_ you?" I asked hesitantly, grimacing at my less-than tactful choice of words.

Kurama frowned... but not in a way that made me feel guilty, almost as if... he was trying to figure my query out for himself. After a while of that, I lifted an eyebrow, prompting him to continue.

"You really don't know, do you?" I asked softly.

At that, Kurama shook his head. "Yes... I do. I just find it... difficult to explain..."

He pursed his lips. Seeing Kurama in deep thought was almost comical—I was used to him always knowing what he was talking about, and his apparent puzzlement over the state of his mentality was almost laughable. I felt a small, sympathetic smile slip onto my features.

Finally, he began to speak.

"Youko is the name for a less... human side of me," Kurama said slowly, brow furrowed as he unraveled the convoluted workings of his... alter-ego. "He—and I speak in third person only for easier understanding—acts more… demonic than you're used to." He gave me a serious look. "Youko and I are one person... but very different, in a way..."

"You're not making any sense," I muttered. Then I realized I had cut him off, and he was giving me an amused look "Sorry," I added, trying to redeem myself.

He smiled crookedly, understanding my confusion. "Then let me put it this way... what you see right now—me—is the product of two conflicting opposites... converged in the closest thing to an agreement.

"What separates the more... condensed demonic nature, and myself, is our mindset. Right now, I have human instincts, human nature, and a conscience that is thoroughly set into what is right, what is moral. But, supposedly, when I take this..." He tilted the jar slightly, and the liquid inside sloshed around, "it will bring a dormant, less human side of me to the surface... one that has no human inhibitions, and almost no conscience."

I shot him a startled look.

He noticed, and smiled in a reassuring way. "_Almost_, Reina. It is still me; I am still aware of what is happening and can influence it to some degree—because I am influenced by Youko, even now. I simply suppress my demonic nature, and that enables me to be more human."

I lifted an eyebrow, making it known that I was still confused.

Kurama grinned. "What I mean... is that—if you can forgive the crudeness of my language—Youko is a cold-hearted... jerk." He smiled, almost embarrassedly, as I burst into peals of astonished laughter.

"So you're..." I began, starting to understand, fighting laughter, "what happens when demon meets human, and has no choice but to compromise...?"

"I… could not have put it better myself," Kurama answered, nodding. Then, his small half-smile became wry. "I know you don't like hearing me talk about... you and I, but it is people like you, and my mother," he added with another nod, "That makes me _what_ I am. Both sides of me—what remains of my human conscience, and what exists as my demonic ego—feel the same way about you, and about my mother." He smiled sadly as I chewed on my bottom lip.

"The two of you are one of the few things that the conflicting sides of me have ever agreed on," he finished, his smile fading.

'What _remains_ of your human conscience...?'" I quoted after a few moments of awkward silence, and lifted an eyebrow.

Another wry grin. "I told you this. I inhabited the body of Shuichi Minamino before it acquired a soul... so I have human thoughts, human impulses..." he shrugged, "but I can never be fully human. Other than the fact that my heart beats, and that I can age... I am a demon."

"But because your demonic soul is... just that, a soul... you _can_ be fully demonic? But because Shuichi's soul never really existed… you can never be truly human?" I surmised.

"Exactly."

Then something he said earlier finally caught my attention.

"Wait... you said something about your heart beating, and aging...?" I asked, frowning. "What's that supposed to mean...?"

"Demon hearts don't beat," Kurama answered calmly. My mouth popped open. "Like for humans, it is a focal point for our pulse... but our spiritual energy is what makes our blood run."

"But _you _have a pulse, right?" I asked, a little nervously.

Kurama nodded. "Of course I do. What you see right now is my human form, my human body... so I have a pulse, but... I lack a tail." His grin grew more pronounced.

"What's this about a tail?" I blinked several times at his casual reference. "I mean... you're still going to _look_ the same, after you take that junk..." I pointed to the jar that Suzuka had given him, "even though your personality's going to be a bit off... right?"

"Wrong."

I eyed him warily.

Kurama shrugged. "I'll look very different. Taller... more… intimidating. You'll see." He grinned. "And then you'll see just how different my alter ego is..."

"I _know_ I'm going to regret this."

He smirked. I sighed.

"So, let me sum this up. What I'm looking at is your human form. But your human form is a mix of Youko's demonic abilities... and Shuichi's human nature." Kurama nodded. "You have a split personality thing going on with Youko, you, and what's left of Shuichi, which isn't really an alter ego, but your name for your human instincts...?"

Kurama nodded again, patiently waiting for me to continue.

"So, basically... Youko is _your_ demonic nature... on steroids."

Kurama laughed. "You certainly have no trouble with the basics," he agreed, chuckling and shaking his head.

"Thanks... I think."

Kurama smiled, raising an eyebrow. He then gestured to the stand of trees surrounding the hotel, and us, and raised a hand in my direction, in a 'come hither' gesture.

"Then… shall we?"

We exchanged a long look. Mine was incredulous, his was calm, patient, waiting.

"Again… what the hell do you mean by that?" I asked suspiciously, crossing my arms and taking an automatic step back, to the hotel doors.

"I understood that you were run over to the new stadium… by Jin, earlier…"

"…Crap."

He grinned. "You seem to have no aversion to that sort of transportation, Reina, so I figured that I will repeat it."

"Oh, no…" I stammered. "Not fair. You see, when I ran with Jin—well, I suppose I wasn't even running—that was a choice between _flying_ and staying acquainted to the ground…"

"It's faster."

"B-but I like the ground… walking with my own two feet…" I mumbled, taking another step back.

"Your two left feet," Kurama teased idly, smirking.

"That's low, fox boy." I frowned. "Underhanded insults are _not_ going to help your case."

He shrugged, not seeming very worried. "I do not remember giving you a choice in the matter," he hinted, and caught my gaze. His eyes flashed.

Another step back. I felt my back hit the glass door. I shook my head.

"You wouldn't… Jin, maybe, but not _you_."

I was wrong.

Before I knew what had hit me, he had grabbed my arm and slung me over his back, much like Jin had earlier. Automatically acting on my predicament, I latched my arms around his neck, squeezing my eyes shut and praying that he wouldn't drop me.

"I suppose it would be a waste of breath to tell you to hold on," Kurama said mildly. "Especially now that they're numbered…"

"Just tell me when it's over."

"Alright, then."

And he started running.

* * *

"So… now what?" I asked a little breathlessly, leaning against a tree and sparing Kurama a glare for the moment. Though I hadn't been running, I felt too winded to tell him off.

"I will take this…" he said, pulling the bottle from his pocket and studying it, "and then you'll time how long it takes for me to transform. And then…" he smiled, glancing over at me, "you'll time how long it takes for me to revert back to my human form."

"Timing you twice, then."

"That's right."

His running had brought us back to the small, long-grassed field from earlier, when I had spoken with him, and when he had told me how he felt about me. Where I had admitted the same, and he had rejected my feelings for him. I thought it a little odd, but I didn't say anything about it, as we stood near the edge of the trees, the wind blowing around us, night animals calling out to each other.

Kurama seemed to hesitate for a moment, running a hand through his hair and frowning in a thoughtful way.

"What?" I asked, shoving away from the tree and giving him a mildly concerned look.

His troubled frown deepened, and he cut his eyes at me. "I would like you to… stay behind a tree, or something of the sort." He gave me a level look. "I do not know how… volatile it will be… and I do not want you to suffer from my ignorance of it."

"You want me to hide."

"Correct."

"In the shrubbery."

Kurama lifted an eyebrow. "Do you object?"

I sighed. "Not really, I suppose… but it _is_ weird."

"You should be used to that by now, Reina."

I smirked a little, giving him a long look. "Is that an insult…?"

"Not at all," Kurama said, eyes widening in his sincerity. "I am simply stating that you handle… weird… situations _very_ well. Remember when I told you what I was?" He smiled, shaking his head. "You took it in, and calmly asked me for details. I was astounded."

"I didn't know that."

"Well, I was."

We exchanged a long look, both smiling slightly as we remembered back to those days, nearly a year ago. It felt like an eternity.

I sighed heavily, averting my gaze to the ground.

"Something wrong?"

"Not at all. Let's get this over with," I murmured, turning on my heel and ducking under a tree branch, dead leaves crackling under my sneakers. I retreated about ten feet into the forest, and looked back, peeking out from behind the wide trunk of an oak tree. Though I couldn't see if he could note the gesture, I gave him a thumbs up.

"Ready. Tell me when to start the clock."

Kurama's silhouette moved a bit. "Then… three, two…"

I pressed in the dial on the side of my watch, and the face glowed, showing the hands. I took note of their positions, realizing vaguely that it was nearly four.

"One."

There was a silence. Then a disgusted grunt reached my ears.

"Problems downing the mystery—not to mention potentially lethal—substance, Kurama?" I asked cheerfully, but at the same time, I felt a sharp pang of nervousness. If that crap was something harmful, what could I possibly do to help him…?

"I suppose you could say that. It's… nasty."

"I won't say that you deserve it," I said offhandedly, sliding down to the mossy forest floor, leaning my head back against the tree trunk. "But… you _did_ decide to do this. If anything happens that's not supposed to, I'm holding you personally responsible."

"So if I were to die…?" Kurama's voice asked, sounding amused.

"I would drag you back from Spirit World and kill you again," I said matter-of-factly. "Assuming that I can evade Karasu."

The words were out, and it was too late to take them back. I wanted to reach out and snag them out of the air, drag them back, prevent them from reaching Kurama's ears.

But he had heard them, and the silence dragged.

"Do not worry about Karasu, Reina," Kurama's voice murmured. "It will be alright. You'll see."

And the silence continued.

"Sorry," I mumbled finally. "I mean… it just slipped out…"

I waited for him to answer. After another long silence, I fidgeted, peeking around the tree trunk again.

"Kurama…?"

And, as if on cue, a bright white light burst through the trees, with a sound that I had never heard in my life, but knew instantly…

It was a clandestine sound of energy being compressed, transformed… and I knew that I was about to meet the enigma, Youko Kurama.

* * *

In time, the light faded, and the sound vanished. In its wake, a haunting, thin fog trailed silently through the trees, clinging to the branches like tattered rags, ebbing forward and enveloping me in an eerie cloud as I stood, holding my breath.

The mist swirled, white and silent, around my knees, drifting through the cluster of trees I had hidden myself in. Tentatively, bracing my palm against the scratchy surface of a tree, I edged out from behind it and peered back into the clearing.

Through the fog, I could see the long blades of grass bobbing gently in the soft breeze, making changing patterns in the white, eerie haze. The weak light from the cloud-obscured moon reflected off the mist, giving the entire clearing a surreal, otherworldly look.

I proceeded cautiously into the meadow.

The bizarre scenery captured my voice, and, as I waded through the waist-high grass at the edge of the forest, I didn't speak Kurama's name. I simply picked my way through the miasma, looking hesitantly about me for his presence, hands outstretched before me to part the grassy waves. I broke free of the tall grass and looked about me nervously, rubbing my arms to get rid of the goosebumps.

"Hello?" I called. "Kurama?"

There was a long silence. Even the crickets had stopped chirping.

"Looking for someone?" A deep, amused voice said, right behind me.

In the split second it took for me to whip around, I could see it all again—Karasu, towering and sinister, looming over me, uttering those same exact words...

Agony. Death. Ryo...

With a cry, striking blindly, I hurled my fist at the person standing behind me, putting all the effort I had behind it.

Clawed fingers caught my hand deftly by my gloved wrist, immobilizing my weak attempt at an attack.

I looked up, eyes wide in fear.

Hazel eyes held mine, questioning... and slightly taken aback.

In the tawny stare, I could see something I recognized.

This had to be Youko... there was a certain animalistic gleam that was perpetually visible in his eyes, an almost feral tint that I—if I looked closely—could always see underlying Kurama's gaze.

He was a complete and utter stranger to me, but he was also very familiar, in a way.

As I stared—gaped, really—Youko's presence struck me like a physical blow. He was tall to the extreme, features aristocratic but not frail. Severe, and breathtaking.

Atop his head, furred, pointed ears poked out of a mane of silver hair, which flowed in perfect strands to his waist. His clothes were white, billowing gently in the wind. Under the loose tunic–like ensemble, there was a powerful swell of muscle that had the potential to effortlessly rip me limb from limb if need be. Which I hoped wouldn't happen.

Of course, he's partly Kurama. Well... he _is _Kurama... holy, this is so confusing...

And, considering that he claimed to love me, my chances of being murdered by his hand were basically zero.

But I couldn't help but cringe slightly at the sight of him.

"I-I'm sorry," I stuttered in a breathless squeak, heart still racing, breath still caught. My eyes flashed down to my gloved hand, small and trapped in his grasp, then flicked back up to his face. "T-that was... incredibly rude, and uncalled for..."

Then, to my astonishment, something wet trickled out of my eyes, blurring my vision, and I gasped in mortification as the tears began to flow.

Youko's eyes widened a fraction, and when I attempted to yank my gloved hand from his, to turn away and hide my face, his fingers tightened a fraction around my wrist and prevented my hand (and me) from going anywhere.

I bit down on my lower lip and avoided his penetrating stare, fixing my gaze on our hands, clasped loosely between us.

His clawed thumb slipped away from my wrist, and, casually, he hooked it around my thumb and tugged it out of my fist. His other hand smoothed it across the tops of my fingers, and when he had completed that order of business, he lifted my hand slightly and twisted it gently in my direction.

"...That's how you throw a punch," Youko intoned mellifluously, a small half smirk gracing his features, amused at my blunder. It didn't quite reach his eyes—the ocher depths were tinged with speculative worry, assessing the wetness in my eyes with an unfathomable sentiment.

I managed a tiny smile. "Thanks. I'll remember that." And this time, when I tugged my hand away, he released it.

"Well…" I said after a silence, consulting my watch and taking note of the hands so I could time how long Kurama remained in this form, "That was five minutes…"

Youko's smirk widened at my pitiful attempt at conversation.

"So…" I said awkwardly, craning my head to look up at him, "Hi."

"Hello, Reina," Youko replied deeply. His eyes held mine, and I felt like a rabbit caught in the eyes of a snake. Sort of. I was frozen, but not scared stiff... though human instinct told me I should be. His eyes were almost mesmerizing.

Then, quickly, without a change of expression, he lifted a hand and brushed a tear from my cheek. His skin didn't even touch mine, not that it would've mattered. I was wearing the Barrier Stone, and that would protect me from what was sure to be the most impressive demonic aura I had ever encountered.

"And the cause of this…?" Youko murmured, keeping his hand level with my face, so I could see the tiny droplet resting on his clawed finger.

"Nothing important," I muttered, unable to avert my gaze.

There was a pause, during which Youko lifted an eyebrow.

"Humans cry when they are unhappy," he observed, staring at me.

"And demons don't?" I challenged, and, realizing that I had just countered the words of a demon who probably knew 265 different ways to kill me with a dandelion, I held my breath and almost apologized. Again.

"Rarely." Youko frowned slightly, and dropped his arm to his side. "You are evading my question."

"Damn. Thought I had you fooled." I rolled my eyes, feeling oddly giddy.

"You will have to be more cunning than that," Youko retorted, a corner of his mouth lifting a bit. Then his eyes became serious. "Why do you cry?"

"Again, nothing important."

"I beg to differ, little human girl." He leaned forward slightly, expression becoming a little more feral, and I blanched.

"Tell me, Reina."

"Why?" I mumbled, edging backwards, trying to keep my voice from squeaking.

Youko hesitated. "So I do not cause you to do it again," he said finally.

I wasn't expecting that. I blinked several times, rapidly. I had expected him to act more like Kurama, I supposed… telling me that he could always make me tell him and all of that. It was ironic… Youko seemed to be more gentlemanly than Kurama was, in that regard.

Finally, I was able to avert my gaze. "I was just…" I said quietly, biting the inside of my lip, "…briefly reminded of something that I would prefer to… suppress. That's all."

Damn. I had glanced back to see his reaction, and now I couldn't move my gaze again. His eyes held mine.

"That does not… answer my question."

Double damn.

A soft breeze blew through the clearing, twisting the strands of my hair that had managed to escape my braid, and rustling through the grass. Youko's ears twitched, almost comically; one swiveled in my direction and the other turned to follow the wind.

"What did I remind you of?"

There was no way I was evading a direct question like that. I still tried, though.

"Not impor—"

"—Reina, if you continue to tell me that it is not important…" Youko warned, "Then I will continue to ask. I will not leave until you answer my question. It is important to me, and I intend to find out. Now…" He tilted his head slightly, frowning, "tell me. No silly _games_."

There was a long silence. His expression was frozen in a frown, eyes fixed on mine, waiting.

I gave in.

"You reminded me… of Karasu," I said finally, in something less than a whisper.

Another silence. Youko's eyes glinted.

"And why is that something that would cause you to cry?" he questioned further, lifting an eyebrow. His expression remained serious, telling me that he wouldn't tolerate any attempts at evasive action.

But I was bewildered.

"Um… are you kidding me?" I asked, feeling a small laugh rise, escaping my lips. "Karasu scares the hell out of me. He nearly killed me. It wouldn't have surprised me if he came to finish the job…so…" I gave Youko a long look, "I was sincerely afraid that he had come back for me."

There was another pause, during which I stared up at Youko, and he gazed down at me, tawny gaze a little... superior?

"I do not mean to sound conceited… but I am probably the most powerful demon you have met thus far," Youko replied finally. "Karasu is not something that you should concern yourself with." Youko smirked crookedly. "Your fears are groundless, Reina."

I smiled despite myself, armed with ammunition. "Well… I don't know about that… Jin seems to be pretty strong," I hinted teasingly, shooting a small smirk at the demonic thief. "Have you seen what he can do? He could rival your demonic botany, Youko…"

And, instead of taking the ribbing lightly, Youko's half-smirk became a disgruntled frown. I lifted an eyebrow, but he didn't say anything. Just stared at me, not blinking, an almost-grimace dominating his expression.

"What's your problem…?"

His frown deepened. Instead of cringing away like human instinct told me to, I was mildly curious, and subconsciously leaned towards him, lifting an eyebrow.

"I… do not like… him."

There was a silence. During which I studied his features, brow furrowed as I tried to unravel what his expression meant…

Then my eyebrows shot into my hairline, and I let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

"Holy… Youko… you're not… _jealous_ of him, are you…?"

His frown deepened again. There was a defensive, animalistic gleam in his eyes now.

"I believe that I should be… the way you speak of him makes me inclined to believe that he understands you on a level… that I have not reached yet. So yes, Reina…" Youko lifted an eyebrow, daring me to object, "I am… jealous."

Another silence.

I shook my head. "I cannot even believe this…"

There was a long silence.

"For the record…" Youko said quietly, "I do not agree with Kurama's rejection of you. We are too powerful to worry about anything harming you," he said, subconsciously using a plural while talking about his other form.

"Oh." I glanced up at him. "Well… thank you. But there isn't much you can do about it…"

"Not in that form," he admitted. The ghost of a smirk slipped onto his features. Before I could do anything, one of his hands reached forward, fingers tangling slightly in my hair. He bent down very close to me, and stared into my eyes. I couldn't move. "However, in _this_ one…"

I lifted my hands in a gesture of surrender and backed off. He released me without complaint.

"Look, I appreciate how you feel… and however tempting that sounds, I'm afraid I'll have to decline." I laughed nervously. "I'll feel like I'd be taking advantage of Kurama—er, your human form. So… thanks, but no thanks."

Youko shrugged, looking oddly human as he did so. "That is where I stand," he said simply.

We were both quiet for a long time. He simply stared down at me, and I up at him.

And, without a word, or a second glance, Youko turned and began to walk away.

"Where are you—"

Youko turned his head to look at me, eyes holding mine. "My time here is done," he said simply.

Then he vanished.

I stood, stunned for a second at his sudden absence. Suddenly, the darkness around me became something frightening, something that I was instantly aware and wary of. I glanced about me, wrapping my arms around myself, and felt the scars on my back stretch, protesting slightly.

Then, from the forest, a faint, familiar glow. I realized that Youko had taken off because he was transforming back into Kurama, to spare me from whatever consequences bystanders could suffer from the change.

I stared at the glow as it faded, then shook my head to clear my thoughts, remembering my purpose, and consulted my watch again.

"Reina."

I glanced up swiftly, startled, and breathed a small sigh of relief as Kurama strode across the clearing, coming up to my side.

"Five minutes to become Youko, and fifteen in that form," I reported with a smirk at how businesslike I sounded.

Kurama seemed to consider the information for a moment, then beamed.

"Fifteen minutes is more than enough time," he proclaimed, smiling down at me. "This is good."

"Glad to hear it."

Kurama's eyes danced in the moonlight as he grinned down at me, but then, something changed. The light went out from his eyes. His smile became a pensive frown.

"Kurama…?"

He looked away from me. I was instantly worried, and suspicious, and touched his arm, trying to catch his gaze.

"What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "There was… another reason I brought you here, Reina…" he admitted, still keeping his gaze from mine. "And… I loathe showing you… but it is necessary. You have the right to see."

"Okay…" I said confusedly, letting my hand drop. Whatever had caused his sudden shift in mood was beyond me… but I was curious, again.

He held out his hand in a gesture I recognized, and I allowed him to sling me over his back again, and hugged my arms around his neck, preparing for the trip.

Without a word, he started running again. I kept my eyes shut, so I didn't see the trees blurring past us, as I knew they were, but I could feel the wind ripping past the two of us.

And then, suddenly, he halted.

There was a silence. The trip was so short that I half expected him to continue on, and I kept my eyes shut.

"Reina, it's over," Kurama told me.

My eyes snapped open. We were in another clearing. The branches of a cherry tree—probably the only kind of tree that I could recognize—swayed against the backdrop of the cloud-obscured moon.

"Oh," I said, and released the chokehold I had on Kurama, slipping down to the ground. Kurama turned quickly to make sure I landed safely, and something in his expression made me instantly nervous.

It was as if he were preparing himself for a blow, expectant, worriedly so. And I felt my hand lift to the Barrier Stone automatically.

As my fingers touched the amulet, I was reminded of the dream I had, right before Jin had woken me. It had ended... so soon…

And there was still the enigma of this Masuyo person. But I pushed that thought aside, and lifted the chain from my neck, stepping past Kurama.

"Reina, what…?"

"Scanning the area," I informed him lightly, unable to shake the feeling of dread. I figured that if I could confirm that this meadow was secure, devoid of any demons save Kurama, that feeling would vanish.

"I would… not let a demon even touch you…" Kurama said, sounding a little confused. I didn't blame him. I trusted Kurama with my life, and, to him, it looked like I was questioning that unconditional protection. This was a first.

"I know that. It just makes me feel better."

However, Kurama didn't trust himself enough to be with me. He didn't trust himself enough to keep me safe. I wished he could see how utterly _I_ trusted him.

I lifted the amulet over my head, and settled into the familiar haze of awareness… Kurama's aura was calmly ebbing behind me, but…

As I stretched my defense out, checking, I hesitated at the tree standing in the middle of the meadow.

With surprise, I registered that it had faint traces of Kurama's energy, an effect caused by his hand in growing it, I surmised. I couldn't fathom why he had randomly sprouted a tree in the middle of a random meadow, and wondered if that was what he wanted to show me.

Not wanting to disappoint him, if he was trying to surprise me or something, I returned the Barrier Stone back around my throat, and turned to give Kurama a questioning look.

"So… what did you want to show me?" I questioned, sincerely confused. If he "loathed" to show me a tree he had sprouted, I didn't understand why.

Kurama's gaze was downcast.

"At the base of the tree," he murmured finally, in an emotionless voice, head bowed.

I stared at him confusedly, then turned, and began walking to the tree, across the field.

I was still confused, but I hoped that his motives would be made plain to me, once I saw what he wanted me to.

I reached the tree, staring up into the dark branches for a moment.

Then I averted my gaze to the ground. My eyes fell on what Kurama wanted me to see.

And then, I understood.

* * *

I didn't need to read the headstone, to know whose final resting place this was.

I was vaguely aware of Kurama assessing my reaction silently, from across the meadow, but only vaguely. The moonlight washed over the grass before me, disturbing the branches of the nearly bare cherry tree. It blew a leaf over the dirt mound, and it skirted over the disturbed earth, and disappeared into the darkness. That was the only thing that had any substance, now. The image before me.

I was not aware of falling to my knees before Ryo's grave, and hardly cared as the dew seeped through the knees of my jeans, as the grass stained my hands. I stared, silently, at the gravestone, and wondered where my tears had gone.

"His family," I deadpanned. It was meant as a question, but I felt as if someone had pulled a cork, and drained all of the emotion, all of the feeling out of me.

Kurama's shadow fell over me, as he kneeled next to where I was, suddenly beside me. "He... did not have any," Kurama murmured.

I nodded. I was painfully aware of the movement. After all, if this grave had not been dug... and filled... I would not be alive to move, to nod and ask questions that seemed inconsequential in the face of... this...

"Reina..."

Kurama's voice changed. It almost seemed helpless. As if he didn't know what to say. And, for the first time since I had met him, he spoke, and faltered as he did.

"I... cannot fathom... how difficult this is. For you. And I..." In my peripheral, I saw him shake his head. "I cannot express... how grateful I am... how selfishly thankful... that it was not you."

I didn't answer. There wasn't enough emotion in me to argue with him, tell him he was being stupid and that I deserved to be where Ryo was right now.

"And... Reina."

I glanced over at him. He gave me a long, level look.

"If... Karasu defeats me... Jin will be taking you somewhere. Far away. Where he can't find you."

I felt my mouth pop open. I stared blankly at him.

Then, loudly, defiantly:

"No."

Kurama's brow furrowed slightly, and he blinked, eyes tightening a little bit at my refusal. But when he opened his mouth to speak, I cut him off, shaking my head.

"Just... listen to me. Karasu..." The name was heavy on my tongue, and I felt a surge of an alien sentiment... hatred, real hate, flaring up. "He isn't someone you can hide from. I already have..." I fumbled over my words, feeling a lump in my throat. I turned my face away, and stared at Ryo's grave marker again.

"I already have Ryo's blood on my hands," I murmured huskily, trying to keep a hold on my voice, to keep it from breaking. My lips quivered. "No one else is going to die because of me. Alright? If Karasu wins..." I swallowed. "If he... beats you, I'll be right here. He'll kill me. And that'll be the end of it—"

"—Reina!" Kurama said suddenly, frustration clouding his tone. He reached out, and took my wrists in one of his hands. He held my hands to my face, his fingers dinting the leather between our skin, shaking.

"These hands are clean." He gave me a look that almost looked like a glare. "Never insinuate that you are guilty of Ryo's death. He made a decision, and followed it through."

"A decision that he thought was necessary..." I murmured, leaning away from Kurama, wishing he would release my hands, "because of a stupid mistake on my part..."

"That is wholly and utterly ludicrous, Reina, and you know it."

"Let go."

My quiet request was met by silence. His fingers didn't loosen.

"I mean it, Kurama. If you don't... well, I think I'm capable of incapacitating you right now."

His expression didn't change. But he obeyed, and my hands fell into my lap.

"What makes you think that?" He asked softly. There was a hidden emotion in his eyes, but I didn't pry and averted my gaze. I didn't want to know what kind of blow I had inflicted on him.

"Hate."

The only noise was the night breeze, the crickets chirping. There was no answer.

"Not you, Kurama," I muttered, looking at him. "Karasu. He had... no right... in killing..." My eyes squeezed shut. "He's a heartless bastard... and god, Kurama..." I looked back up to him, voice despairing, and I wondered when I had become this... craving death, so completely, so utterly.

In that moment, I was something that was utterly foreign, consumed by rage... and I didn't know if I could be _me_ again. I had crossed the threshold, and I had locked the door behind me.

"If I had the strength, I would run my energy through every bone in his body... and watch him burn. Watch him scream, watch him die. And _laugh_." I shuddered, and quickly looked away from Kurama. "Don't tell me that my hands are clean, Kurama. Because... I've already killed Karasu a thousand times over in my heart. And I know... that I would've enjoyed watching him suffer." I felt something wet trickle out of my eyes.

"I'm no better than him. What I _want_ makes me as heartless as he is..."

And what I wanted to say was frozen on my tongue. I couldn't say it. I wouldn't.

_How can you look at me that way, Kurama?_ I thought, as his kind stare held my eyes. _How can you _not_ be disgusted with... this... this _thing_ I've made myself? How? I don't understand..._

"Reina," I heard him say. I didn't look up. His hand took my shoulder, and shook me. "Look at me."

I did.

Kurama's gaze was kind, gentle, understanding. "You are justified in what you feel right now. Never doubt that." His arm moved, wrapping around my shoulders, and I didn't push him away. "Karasu has taken innocent life… and had scarred you… deeply. I will not say that I can sympathize. I cannot. But I will tell you…" his fingers brushed comfortingly over my shoulder, "That I will end this for you. For Ryo. I will always be here, Reina."

I stared up at him. I felt faint traces of something… remorse? Guilt? I didn't know.

But, overall, I felt grateful. And, in an impulse that I couldn't deny, I leaned against Kurama, and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Thank you," I managed thickly.

I knew that this was not the end. There was a long road ahead of me, but I knew, if Kurama stayed with me, I could reach the end of it. No matter what.

* * *

**Leave me a review telling me how I did with Youko! He's so difficult to write XD**


	24. Turning Tables

**Hey guys! Here's part one of Kurama's fight against Karasu! Excited? You should be. **

**Thank you _KactusKat16, bananamush, GretchenMichelle, ShadowDmn, unknown player, pourquoibella, Oakensheild, Otaku-neku, Wolf-Maiden Mitsuki, Beryl Bloodstone, RandomCitizen, Delu, RandomCitizen_, and _MizuKaji_ for reviewing!**

* * *

"_No straight lines make up my life —all my roads have bends; no clear-cut beginning; so far, no dead ends."_

—_Tom Chapin_

Turning Tables

* * *

Sleep, traitorously, evaded me that night.

When Kurama brought me back to the hotel room, and left with his goodbyes hanging in the air, I thought I could collapse in bed and sleep through the meager remains of the night, and through the next day.

But when I climbed under the covers, I could only stare at the ceiling, unable to wind down.

Images and voices swirled around me like a malevolent kaleidoscope, whispering memories, and haunting my restless conscience.

There was the ever-present images of Ryo, of his eyes straining to mine, of his voice begging me to escape as he slowly died.

There were visions of Karasu, looming out of the darkness, eyes crinkling, turning a sadistic red... his voice promising that my death would come quickly.

Maybe I was delirious... I hadn't slept well, even _before_ Kurama had come knocking with his shoe aloft, and now I simply had no chance of getting any shut-eye whatsoever.

So I resigned myself when the sun started to peek over the horizon, and took a shower.

When I was done, I caught sight of myself in a portion of the mirror that hadn't been fogged.

Frowning, I leaned forward, and studied the deep shadows under my eyes. My eyes were puffy from lack of sleep, dry, the usual blue faded to a grayish color that made me look weary, and grim.

I never really understood some girls' obsessions with their looks, but regardless felt a tinge of vain horror. I looked like hell.

Turning away from the mirror, I busied myself with yanking a shirt over my head, jerking a pair of jeans on, and twisting my unruly mane of hair into a ponytail. With that feat accomplished, I exited the bathroom silently and waited for the other girls to wake up.

Well, let me rephrase that. I headed to the kitchen to wait for the girls to wake up, and was instantly assaulted by a laughing, grinning ice apparition.

"How was your date with Kurama?" Yukina squeaked from somewhere around my navel.

Recovering from the initial shock of the sneak attack, I managed to keep my footing and tried to twist out of Yukina's embrace. Failing miserably at that, I then proceeded to wave frantically, silently telling Yukina to shut up, as I heard a groggy snort from where Botan was sleeping.

"Mneah…" Botan grumbled, sitting up and staring at Yukina and I blearily. "Already morning…? You two are looking s-spiffy…" The last word was butchered by a large, loud yawn that succeeded in waking Keiko and Shizuru.

"Tell me how your d—" Yukina started to say, but I clamped a gloved hand over her mouth, blanching as Botan looked between the two of us curiously.

"Coffee," Shizuru commanded in a grunt, rising like a zombie from the recliner and stumbling into the mini-kitchen, bumping against the island with a curse.

Shizuru's plight distracted Botan for the moment, and she followed Shizuru into the mini-kitchen, and helped her acquire her caffeine fix.

"Please tell me how your date was," Yukina whispered when I released her.

"How did you…?'"

"I'm a demon. I heard everything," she whispered.

There was a long silence.

"First off, it wasn't a date," I whispered back, rolling my eyes. "And secondly…"

I thought back to the surreal wonder… meeting Youko and talking to him. I remembered visiting Ryo's grave, and thought back at how, when I crawled into bed afterwards, I felt as if I had come to terms with what had happened. At least a little. I knew there was no real way you could permanently get over such things.

Though I realized now that the sense of closure was probably a side effect from sleep deprivation, it had felt good. And I wanted to continue that charade, if the gnawing guilt would go away for awhile.

"...it was... nice," I finished lamely.

Yukina beamed.

* * *

The new stadium was absolutely packed.

I had never seen the inside of the new stadium, so I was awestruck as we walked through the archway. The ceiling was imperceptibly high, domed... and the interior of the stadium was lit by brilliant spotlights.

"What's going on? Why's everyone... just standing around...?"

Keiko's voice jerked me out of my awe-struck silence, and I glanced up at her before peering down at the arena, shading my eyes with my hand.

Both Team Toguro and Team Urameshi were, as Keiko had said 'just standing around.' I frowned as I stared at our team... something was off...

One, two, three, four...

"Hey, where's Genkai?" I asked suddenly, hand dropping to my side. I glanced inquisitively at Botan, then did a double take.

Botan's face froze at my voice, eyes tightening, lower lip quivering. She exchanged a quick glance with me and shook her head.

I could tell something was bothering her, and made up my mind to ask her about it later. I looked back down at the two teams.

Team Toguro only had four as well.

I recognized the team's namesake, the massively powerful Toguro, his scrawny brother sitting on his shoulder, the armored figure of Bui, and...

My eyes slipped past Bui, and landed on an all too familiar form—long, thin, and menacing, even from this distance. I shuddered involuntarily, and averted my gaze to the backs of Team Urameshi, crossing my arms tightly over my chest.

I could've sworn he was looking at me.

As if in agreement with my nervous assumption, my back throbbed, sending an ebbing wave of pain across my shoulders. I felt a hysterical giggle bubble up in my throat. Hell, this was too much. I needed to quit thinking about _him_...

"...Who's the man at the gate...?"

Yukina, this time. I looked down at her, purposefully not following where she was pointing... which was directly at Team Toguro. Or behind them, rather. But still...

"I don't know..." Keiko murmured, peering in that direction. I saw her look down at me. "He's very good-looking, don't you think...?"

"Sure," I uttered, staring fixedly at the ceiling. At my standoffish response, Keiko shrugged and bent over to converse with Yukina about the stranger's hotness.

After a few minutes of this, and shifting from foot to food edgily, I suggested that we should go find our seats. Obviously picking up on the disgruntled tone of my voice, they all agreed warily and we made our way to a free spot.

I then sat in the noisy crowd, hands fisted in my lap, eyes on my gloved fingers.

Whatever happened to my hate, dammit?

Well, wherever it was, it wasn't doing me any good. I had been prepared to hate Karasu, and keep hating, but now...

...Now I was scared stiff.

I hated to admit the truth, but there you have it.

I grimaced when I realized that I was brooding. I had never done that before, and I sure as hell didn't want to start now...

"You couldn't _pay_ me to cheer for that vampire wannabe _WEIRDO_...!" Keiko's voice suddenly shrieked, very close to my ear, startling me out of my haze.

"Eh..." I said awkwardly, raising my voice over the shouts of the demons around us, "What's going on?"

Shizuru, obviously knowing that I had conked out on them for several minutes, summarized all that I had missed.

"Koenma's taken Genkai's place at their alternate, and the finals have started." She nodded down to the arena, flicking some ash from her newly lit cigarette. "Apparently, Karasu's pretty popular with the crowd... you know, with everyone but us."

I blanched inwardly at the name and averted my gaze to my right. I glanced up swiftly as my eyes fell on a heavily muscled, blue arm.

When did Jorge get here? I frowned, a little miffed. I was so pathetically preoccupied that I didn't even notice an _ogre_ sit next to me...

I looked up, just to see the match begin.

Kurama and Karasu stood at opposite ends of the ring; Karasu's stance was casual, indifferent. Kurama seemed tense. From here, I could see his fists clenched at his sides.

The new announcer, Juri, lifted a hand, looking between the two opponents...

"Kurama versus _Karasu_...!"

My teeth worried my lower lip.

Juri's hand dropped.

"_BEGIN_...!"

At first, nothing happened. Despite my earlier decision, I found myself leaning forward in my seat, watching the arena with rapt, almost obsessive attention. Shizuru shot me a concerned look, but her face faded into the background, blurring out of my thoughts.

I squinted. There was... a cloud of _something_ swirling around Kurama... was it...?

"Oh, wow, people..." I heard Koto's voice boom over the loudspeakers, and she too was leaning forward in the place she had been demoted to—in the stands, as a sidelines commentator. "Kurama's surrounded himself by a _huge_ whirlwind of rose petals... Karasu must stink!"

At that, I heard the majority of our group snort in amusement.

"...There mustn't be any cause for concern, though..." Koto amended as Karasu's sinuous form advanced on Kurama, "Because Karasu's walking into the funnel without _any_ hesitation."

I stared helplessly as Karasu slinked forward.

_Move, Kurama..._

Karasu was still walking towards him. My fingers trembled.

_He doesn't even need to get _that_ close..._

And, as if to prove my point, Karasu blurred out of existence.

Kurama's only defense began to explode, sending ashes floating down to the arena floor. I saw Kurama take an involuntary leap backwards, crouched and ready for the worst.

I wished I was a demon, then... so I could see what was happening, _when_ it was happening, instead of just the aftermath. I didn't even see Karasu so much as _look_ at the petals...

Both fighters stood still as stone. Kurama was at the edge of the ring, and Karasu was studying him from the center of it.

What I wouldn't give to hear what they were saying...

A sudden idea occurred to me. I leaned around Botan to look at Jorge, a question on my lips.

"Jorge, can you hear..."

My query was interrupted, as my group gasped aloud in unison, and I whipped my head around to find that Kurama and Karasu were already locked in blurred, precise battle, flying across the ring with no more substance than wraiths.

"What an attack! Just the way I like it—confidence with a hint of malice...!"

"SHUT UP, KOTO!" Botan and I yelled instantly, but our voices were lost in the roar of the demonic audience surrounding us.

Kurama broke away from the violent fight, leaping into the air, slashing his trademark rosewhip at Karasu...

Where it exploded and split in two, from a casual flick of Karasu's wrist.

Kurama landed, and tossed the smoking end of the whip aside, taking a defensive stance.

It happened very suddenly, and it startled me... though I knew this turn for the worst was long overdue.

There was a flash of light, an explosion, and Kurama flinched, stiffening.

He fell almost to his knees, clutching his arm. It was smoking from the aftermath of Karasu's unseen attack.

I winced sympathetically, eyes widened on the sight. I knew how much the explosion must've hurt... I knew how utterly crippling that particular brand of pain was. That kind of attack was a stunning blow...

_He won't be able to take much more of this,_ I thought frantically. _If Karasu gets one attack in, he'll get another, and another, and Kurama's done for..._

I bit my lip.

_Hurry up, Kurama... transform already..._

Then, too soon, Karasu vanished.

At the same time, Kurama turned and leaped out of the way, as Karasu flashed back into existence, his bone-white hand crushing the section of arena that Kurama had been standing on only a split second before. Kurama, sensing Karasu's energy again and locking onto it, whipped around and slid to a stop.

Another explosion.

Kurama jerked violently in response as the fire burned into his leg. His split-second flinch had helped—the explosion didn't have the effect that I knew Karasu was aiming for.

Kurama was still standing.

But, so was Karasu. They stood on opposite sides of the ring, inhumanly still, staring at each other.

It only looked like the two opponents were locked in a stalemate. I wouldn't deny—though I fervently wished it wasn't true—that, if Kurama didn't transform, Karasu had the upper hand in this fight. Kurama wouldn't have a chance in his human form.

"They're... just standing there," I heard Keiko whisper. "Is Kurama planning something...?"

"I hope so," I murmured in reply. "Karasu likes to hear himself talk... maybe Kurama can use that down time to think of something..."

My sentence was cut off as Karasu lifted a hand...

And it began to glow.

A chill ran through me. I knew what this was. I had never seen it... but I could see it now. Which meant that the effect would be much more devastating. Much more deadly. More lethal... because he was putting enough energy into this bomb that I, a regular human with no spiritual awareness because my powers were sealed off, could see.

Karasu was compensating for Kurama's demonic strength. When Karasu had attacked me, my spiritual sight couldn't pick up any image of his bombs... and I realized that he had not felt the need to power up to his full strength.

I was just a human. Kurama was a demon... and Karasu was a stronger one.

This would not end well.

The glow grew, condensing, solidifying.

It vanished.

And Karasu's hand was laden with his ace, his weapon... the key to the end.

He leaped into the air. He jumped... slowly. Time seemed to freeze and stand still, as he lifted his arm over his head.

Kurama lifted his arm for protection, bracing himself...

And Karasu threw the bomb.

"RUN, KURAMA...!" I shrieked desperately, lurching to my feet—preparing for what, I didn't know. There was no way I could possibly get down there in time.

_BOOM_.

The force of the blast drove my friends back into their seats; they crouched down, avoiding the searing heat, the gale-force winds. I staggered, unbalanced, throwing my arms into the air to shield my face from the impossible explosion, and falling to my knees under the crippling force of the blast.

The wind howled in my ears, whipping mercilessly past my face, pulling tears from my eyes. Maybe they were already there. I don't know.

And everything was very silent.

I opened my eyes.

The smoke billowed into the air, covering the majority of the arena.

I stared dumbly at it, uncomprehending.

In my peripheral, I could see Botan silently crying. It was then that I realized that I was trembling, little desperate noises escaping my lips.

A cold wind blew through the stadium.

The smoke swirled in it, taking on a blue-white glow. Tendrils of it swirled in eddies, lashing out and sparking in the air, electric, like lightening.

If I hoped, that would only set me up for disappointment.

The blast had been enormous... it had taken out part of the stands, as I saw now, and had sent a wave of searing heat shrieking through our group. We were _miles_ away from the center.

Nothing could've survived a direct hit... nothing. No one.

I resigned myself to the worst, terrified of what was to come.

And, just as I had accepted the fact that Kurama was dead, and that there was no doubt that I would be joining him...

An inhuman shriek split the air, sending a distinct, alien thrill up and down my spine. I straightened up, not even daring...

The smoke cleared.

And a tall, silver-haired demon stood in the exact center of the arena, eyeing Karasu in an amused way.

And then I dared to hope.

"Took your dear sweet time, didn't you, Youko...?" I mumbled pathetically, voice quivering. I let my head drop into my hands, shoulders slumping. "Oh, _holy_..."

"YOU _GO_, KING OF THIEVES!" Jorge roared from behind me, recovering from the effects of the blast and laughing manically. "YOU'RE MY MAN...!"

I snorted at his enthusiasm, smiling weakly, still shaken.

"Reina..."

Keiko's voice. I looked up. She was holding out a hand for me to take, looking very awkward.

"Um..." she said when I didn't reply, "It feels kinda weird with you down there..."

I chuckled once, and took her hand, rising to my feet. I plopped down on the bench next to her.

"Reina..."

So that wasn't it, then.

Keiko studied me worriedly. "Are you alright...?"

I considered that. "No, not at the moment," I answered truthfully. Then I smiled.

"But I think I will be." I nodded. "Soon."

She regarded me for a moment, almost warily. Then she smiled faintly. "Good."

We looked back at the arena.

"Yep, I've seen this before," Koto was commentating. "That's definitely Youko Kurama...!"

There was a faint scattering of applause, but it was quickly quieted. I smirked. Those demons were so prejudiced.

We all waited for the fight to start again.

I was watching it so closely that I jumped nearly a foot when two explosions detonated just a few feet from Youko, whipping his hair back and kicking up a cloud of dust from the arena floor. I heard Botan chuckle nervously.

"Well, he certainly seems to have things under control," Botan said, gesturing to Youko's hand. It was suspended in the air, so I guessed that he could see the bombs, and had made them explode on purpose.

Karasu didn't look very pleased. But he also took a step back, right foot forward, hands lifting into the air.

Youko vanished.

The entirety of my group gaped in awe as he twisted through the air, seeming to evade something from the speed he was flying. I could only guess that Karasu was now throwing everything he had in his sadistic arsenal at the fox demon, now having to compensate for Kurama's _true_ strength.

Even as Youko flipped gracefully, twenty or so feet off of the arena's floor, he didn't seem perturbed, not one bit. It was almost as if he were humoring Karasu, instead of genuinely running for his life.

Though I was still relieved from his offhandedness, I twitched nervously as he finally landed on the tiled floor, not dodging anything anymore. The way that he had leaped through the air suggested many attacks from all sides... and I hadn't seen any explosions yet, so Youko hadn't detonated Karasu's bombs. Which meant, theoretically, that Youko would now be surrounded by the things I could not see...

I reluctantly tore my eyes from the fight, and frowned down at the Barrier Stone.

Couldn't see...

Karasu would be making up for Kurama's newfound strength, right? Which meant, if I removed the amulet, and unsealed my powers... I _might_ be able to see just what the heck was going on down there.

Making up my mind and mentally bracing myself for the onslaught of demonic aura, I lifted a hand and gripped the pendant.

"Oh, my gosh...!" Botan yelped suddenly, latching onto my arm. At her tone, I whipped my head up.

And Youko exploded in an enormous, easily visible whirlwind of his own aura. It engulfed his form completely, and as it slashed out violently, making Karasu back away, I could see countless numbers of Karasu's bombs exploding.

Needless to say, I dropped the amulet as if it were a poisonous spider. Youko's aura was far too powerful to expose myself to... three second's worth and I would be dead.

Youko's aura grew in intensity, flaring up to the domed ceiling. Then, without a sound, it swirled back down, and became nothing.

I gaped. My arm started to grow numb; Botan was clutching the life out of it.

In place of Youko's energy, innumerable stalks of bruise-colored plants twisted, serpentine, to the ceiling. One of them bent forward, shifting what remained of the arena at its roots, and seemed to eye Karasu hungrily.

It had teeth. Ten foot long, Karasu-munching teeth.

I felt a vindictive smile creep across my face.

Karasu didn't have the upper hand in this fight anymore.

* * *

**Kind of short I know… but bear with me :D**


	25. Worst Case Scenario

**Many thanks to _Delu, Moldy Strawberry, pourquoibella, MizuKaji, Oakensheild, ShadowDmn, Wolf-Maiden Mitsuki, Beryl Bloodstone, RandomCitizen_, and the two anonymous reviewers for leaving me feedback on the last chapter! You're wonderful!**

**Read on! :)**

* * *

"_Have the courage to live. Anyone can die." _

—_Robert Cody_

Worst Case Scenario

* * *

The fight was impossible to follow.

Yes, I could hear it. I could see its after-effects. But I couldn't watch it as it happened, and that was annoying.

Impossibly, instantaneously, the entire thing had pulled a one-eighty, and now Kurama (ahem, Youko) had the upper hand.

Oddly, _he_ wasn't fighting. His plants were.

Karasu had no more substance than a shadow as he evaded their gaping, salivating jaws. Only every other moment I caught sight of him as he blurred out of existence, inches out of reach.

I knew nothing about plants... I could differentiate between grass and trees, and that was about it. To me, these things looked like Venus Flytraps on steroids.

"Oh wow, people, things are really starting to heat up! It's dinnertime and it looks like Karasu's the catch of the day...!"

Apparently, Koto had noticed Karasu's rather bleak disposition as well.

He was going to die; I was positive.

I felt a manic grin creep onto my features as I pondered the outcome of this match. Botan, seeing my creepy grin, gave me a wary look and edged away from me, looking quite nervous.

The grin slipped slightly when I spotted Karasu leaping above the plants, hand drawn back in a position that was only too familiar.

_BOOM._

One of the plant heads exploded, and crumpled back to the arena floor, hissing. Youko didn't even flinch as the heavy, flaming thing landed not two feet from him. He simply stared up at Karasu, and seemed to laugh.

The other countless heads of the oversized flytrap instantly turned on Karasu, seeming to grow in response to the demise of their brother stalk.

And Karasu was on the run again.

I looked down at my watch, and was dimly surprised to find that only five minutes had passed. Karasu was most definitely having trouble even _running away_ now, and I highly doubted that it would take ten more minutes to finish him off. Youko had this in the bag.

And, when I looked back up, I found my suspicions confirmed.

Karasu had landed badly in the center of the ring, and was kneeling in a rather pathetic way, seeming to be paralyzed as the plant rounded on him...

In a flash, he was no longer visible.

One by one, as our group watched in awed horror, every fanged and vicious head of the plant curled around each other, and Karasu was at the center of the suffocating mass.

It was over.

Despite the initial shock of watching the plants crush Karasu, I felt warmth spread through my veins.

Over. Karasu was dead...

The group seemed to share my feelings.

"He beat him..." Keiko murmured, smiling wonderingly. "I can't believe it..."

_I can_, I thought, as Jorge roared in victory, pumping a clawed, overlarge fist into the air. Botan began to applaud, and Yukina was smiling in her soft way.

"Don't get me wrong, I love my bro..." Shizuru said offhandedly, snatching her cigarette from her mouth and watching the plants crush Karasu with a weird mixture of indifference and fascination, "But it's nice to see someone not embarrass himself..."

Jorge's elbow poked my ribs as he shot to his feet, and I whipped my head up, sensing his anxiety.

Karasu-killing plants intact. Yes. Then what...

"Lord Koenma Sir, your _face _is _LEAKING_...!" Jorge bellowed frantically, waving his arms and nearly whacking me in the face.

I saw Koenma turn.

And burst into laughter.

He was still in his teenaged form, but his face was that of a toddler's. It was a rather gruesome combination, honestly… but it was also very funny when he spun back around, hiding his childish features from the crowd. I saw him jerk his hat back down over his face, and after several feverish seconds of hurried spellcasting, he whipped the hat back off and it vanished like smoke.

He must've been so captivated by the match that he had forgotten to maintain his teenaged form.

Jorge looked appalled as I continued to laugh.

"Juri, snap out of it!" Koto yelled into her microphone, as Juri simply sat in the middle of the ring, staring up at the plants with a stupid look on her face.

Youko, obviously bored, drifted past the stunned announcer, headed for the edge of the arena.

"Um... right!" Juri squeaked, lurching to her feet and tearing her gaze from the demon-eating plants. "Erm... looks like Karasu's been soundly defeated, so that means that the winner of the first match is Team Urameshi's Kurama...!"

Our group burst into applause, ignoring the disgruntled growls of the demons around us. Several of them gave us dirty looks, but did nothing more than that as they eyed Jorge's flailing limbs. I flipped off several of them, giddy with relief.

"Um... stay _back_...!" Juri squealed.

Our group silenced, and reflexively turned our attention to the back of the ring.

Youko paused.

The stadium was silent.

And the leafy mass that Karasu had been trapped in was expanding, bulging. As I stared with horror, beams of energy blasted holes through the leaves, shooting out randomly and dissipating several yards from their source.

And, with a resounding blast, and a surging cloud of smoke, the plants ripped apart and were reduced to ashes.

In their wake was an ominous cloud of smoke...

And a sinister demonic aura.

"I wouldn't count me out just yet."

I shuddered as Karasu's voice, eerily amplified, drifted through the stadium. It was cold, malevolent.

And the smoke cleared.

Karasu stood there, in one piece. His mask was gone, and his hair was a strange shade of yellow. His face looked oddly frail without the metal mask—his lips were very thin.

He stared at Youko as the fox demon stared back, back to us, ears twitching speculatively. His tail fluttered in the breeze.

"S-so sorry!" Juri cried breathlessly, skipping back as Karasu's aura flared visibly, a disturbing and disgusting shade of green. "Um... Erm... everyone _forget_ what I just said, the fight will continue now, okay...? Oh, geeze..."

She skittered to the edge of the ring, and jumped off, cowering out of sight.

And Karasu began to laugh.

It was a chilling sound, strangely magnified, and it sent shivers racing up and down my spine. Botan was shuddering, hands over her mouth and eyes wide on the fight below.

"Brace yourselves people... Karasu's back, and he's not too happy...!"

"Shut up, Koto," I whispered, as the demonic audience burst into applause, cheering raucously.

Karasu vanished.

I whipped my head up in time to see his aura flare up around him, as he seemed to hover in the air above the ring, arms spread, crackling electricity running from his fingertips and striking the air.

He was laughing.

And then there was nothing.

The blast was enormous... my mind was too stunned to take it in and cut it down to size... it engulfed the entire arena, and it drove us all back into our seats, screaming. I heard an almighty sound of metal and concrete screeching and roaring as it was twisted out of place, and covered my head to protect myself.

Then, as quickly as it had begun, it was over.

I peeked hesitantly out of my fingers. And couldn't believe.

Botan grabbed my right arm; Keiko clutched my left. We all shrank back.

An entire side of the stadium was gone. Bodies of dead and dying demons were everywhere, in pieces...

My stomach lurched, and my heart stuttered to a halt.

"Anybody see…?"

Yusuke. I could hear his voice, even though he was down below, pulling himself from the rubble.

Numbly, I twisted my arms out of Keiko's and Botan's grasps, and stumbled out into the walkway, clutching the leaning railing for support. The damaged frame groaned under the pressure.

The arena was a column of smoke. There was nothing there anymore.

Another step.

I couldn't see Kurama.

Stumbling now.

Nothing could've survived that. Not even Youko.

I crashed heavily into the barrier wall above the arena floor, clutching the dusty concrete to keep myself from collapsing. Above me, standing on the wall, I could see the ever-stoic Hiei spare me a single glare, and then leap back down to join Yusuke and the others.

_You should be running, human._

I couldn't will myself to think back at him. I could only stare at the smoke, as it cleared.

Nothing there.

_He's coming for you next._

Like I needed reminding. Like Hiei actually cared.

"Rei..."

I whipped my head around to look up. Jin was staring down at me, and the concerned determination in his gaze was too much.

I knew why he was here.

"_If... Karasu defeats me... Jin will be taking you somewhere. Far away. Where he can't find you."_

"J-Jin..." My lips quivered.

"C'mon, I gotta get yeh outta 'ere."

I shook my head weakly. I tried to pull away as he took my arm, but his grip was viselike as he began to pull me to the exit.

"_No_!" I shouted, yanking my arm out of his. We were already halfway up the staircase; I clutched the railing with white-knuckled fingers. "He's not dead—he… he _can't be_…!"

"Rei," Jin hissed, grabbing at me. I jerked away.

"Kurama!" I shouted, looking desperately down at the stadium, looking for the faintest glimmer of hope. Jin grabbed me from behind. "_KURAMA!" _I screamed, writhing against his grip. "Get _UP_, get up _NOW!"_

But all I could see was the figure from my nightmares—long, cloaked in black and standing against the clearing smoke.

He saw me looking, and his maskless lips quirked. His eyes were on mine. He lifted a hand, thumb up, finger out in the shape of a gun, and pressed his finger to his temple in a slow, deliberate way.

And though I couldn't hear him, I saw his lips move. The word was unmistakable.

"Bang."

* * *

Jin pulled me, too fast, towards the exit. My ears were numbed to the noise around me. I knew that there must be sounds, but I didn't hear them. Cheers. Laughter.

They would be applauding the very thing that I was numbed to.

Kurama's death.

And the far-reaching consequences that I knew would haunt me until the end.

...Karasu was going to kill me. There was no question of that.

The only question was... how many people I would allow to go with me.

"Jin," I said hollowly. "You have to run. He's coming."

Jin didn't pay any attention.

"We're probably gonna be goin' to Makai," he was saying, voice uncharacteristically grim, tugging me along. "Plenty o' places t' hide there, an' I know th' place better than 'ere..."

"Jin," I repeated. "He's going to kill you."

Jin ignored me. He yanked me into the sunlight.

"So it's happened."

Touya flitted to our side, out of nowhere, movements wraithlike. Jin seemed more inhuman than usual, too... and I knew that was in direct response to the coming danger. The danger that I would bring down on them.

Touya eyed me keenly.

"I could hold him off," he offered, looking up at Jin and lifting an ice-blue eyebrow. "You can get her out of here, and I'll get Chu to cover your tracks."

I shook my head. Both of them stared at me.

"No," I said with a little more force. "He's going to kill me. It doesn't matter how long I can evade him... in the end, that's the only thing that's going to happen." I looked up at Jin, holding his gaze, then over at Touya.

"I can't let you try to keep him from killing me," I said simply, and the terror—which had been numbed before—washed over me in full force and I felt a peculiar stinging in my eyes. When I spoke again, my voice quivered and caught.

"He'll only kill you."

"He ain't gonna get through us," Jin proclaimed stoutly. Touya nodded firmly, in agreement.

"Just like he didn't get through Ryo?" I asked bitterly, jerking my arm from Jin's grip. "Ryo had the same idea when he took on Karasu. And so did Kur—" My tongue couldn't navigate the name. I swallowed.

"And so did Kurama," I whispered. "Even as Youko, he couldn't beat Karasu. He's gone."

There was a silence.

"No," Jin said. "Ah know what yer tryin' t' do. Tryin' t' scare us off. It ain't working, Rei." He grabbed my shoulder, and pulled me around so that I was facing him.

"Ah told Kurama tha' ah would protect you," Jin said stubbornly. "Ah never go back on my word."

"And though I never got the chance promise the same…" Touya added, "I will too. You're going to be all right."

Touya's promise was empty.

"Kurama's dead," I whispered, and the truth rang through my head, stunning me. "I'm not going to be all right. Not without him."

My eyes were dry, because there was nothing left to feel anymore.

* * *

"Chu and Rinku can help as well," Touya pointed out, still speaking with Jin.

We were still standing in front of the stadium, and Touya was considering options, while Jin was being twitchy and anxious to get out.

"Ah don' like this," Jin kept saying. "We need teh get outta 'ere..."

Touya shook his head, but before he could speak, Chu bolted out of the stadium.

"He's alive!" he shouted. He ran up to me and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me until my teeth rattled. "Kurama's alive!"

"How?" I stuttered when he let me go. I reached out and grabbed his arm in a death grip. He probably didn't even feel it. "It he okay?"

"He's in his human form," Chu admitted. He looked sad. "He doesn't look that great… but he's alive, and he's fightin' ten times harder than the most vicious demon I've ever seen."

"Karasu's still beating the shit outta him," Rinku chirped from his perch on Chu's shoulder, and the mohawked demon reached up and slapped the child-like apparition.

"Watch yer mouth! You're gonna make her cry, yeh little bastard! Sorry, sheila," he added with a wry grin. "You alright?"

Rinku's words had made a knot form in my chest, but I nodded anyway. "Yeah… fine."

"So we don't need to leave just yet," Touya said after a few beats of silence.

Jin frowned, then froze. His mouth popped open into an "o" of horror, and he whirled towards the stadium, whipping out his arm out and dragging me behind him.

"Shit," he uttered.

Everything happened very quickly then.

A bone-jarring jerk sent me flying in what felt like a freefall. A controlled one, perhaps—whoever was holding me didn't let me go. I felt like I was floating.

An explosion sent both of us flying. Wind howled past us, carrying us and depositing us on the ground. We were separated on impact; I went rolling across the moss. When I came to a stop, I struggled to rise, but was beaten back down by the battering of the wind.

"Git outta 'ere, Touya!" I heard Jin yell, over the roaring in my ears. As the gale ripped past us, around us, I realized that the snarling of my thoughts was real, was Jin's power. His wind.

_BOOM_.

The wind became flame, for an instant, and then it was gone. I could hear demons screaming as they ran from us.

"Reina!"

Touya reached me and swept me off the ground, tucking me against his chest like a football as he ran. We went a little ways into the woods, until Jin's power was a distant rumble, and then he set me down.

"Bombs. Karasu's bombs," he informed me as he walked slowly around the thicket we were standing in. Making a perimeter.

Of course. Of course.

"He's sent them after me. He jumped the gun," I said unnecessarily. "If Kurama was dead, then Karasu himself would be after us… but he's just sending his bombs." Kurama must be in really bad shape… if Karasu could fend him off _and_ launch an attack outside of the stadium, then it must not be much of a fight…

"Soon, he will be," Touya said gently, walking up to me.

"Why aren't we going anywhere?" I asked after taking a second to gather my nerves. We were just standing here, completely out in the open.

"Because a wave of them has surrounded us," he replied, and motioned at me. "Take off your pendant and get ready. I'll be needing your help."

* * *

**Kurama's POV**

Pain.

More pain.

I was fatigued with it, drained both physically and spiritually.

I had reverted back into my human form... and my energy had left with Youko.

Blood pulsed, wet and disturbingly bright, from the deep wounds on my arms, legs—every place that would incapacitate me, Karasu had scorched it and driven me to my knees.

The agony of it was simply unimaginable. There was no room in my head for fear, only for the torture and for the horror...

God, Reina had gone through this...!

I had years of training—centuries of it—in numbing myself to pain, and here it was, pulling on the threads of my concentration, stunning me and leaving me helpless. Reina was a human, and I was sure that she had never suffered like this before the attack. Not this way.

Not until Karasu.

The horror was pushed away and forgotten as hate—a crippling, and therefore rarely occurring emotion in me—surged upward and boiled my blood.

He surveyed me casually, standing over me, seeming to be amused at my glare, at this agony.

And no, I was not speaking of the pain, though it was wholly present...

The fact that I knew that I could not survive this, could not kill Karasu, was hell. Utter hell.

She would be running for the rest of her life.

Unless...

...Unless I simply quickened the process.

I was not going to leave this arena alive. I was sure of that.

Maybe... I could take Karasu with me.

My life energy.

My fingers quivered as the idea, now thoroughly ingrained in my mind, branched off into planning, became more than a presumption. It became a strategy.

The only energy I had left in me was my life energy. I could use that... I could use that to grow a parasitic plant... Karasu's chest was bleeding, right over his heart. That would be enough.

It would be quick.

For both of us.

* * *

**Reina's POV**

With trembling fingers, straining to keep my eyes focused as Touya whirled, lowering into a crouch—prepared to fend off the coming danger—I reached for the collar of my shirt, searching for that thin chain...

My quivering hands found the Barrier Stone there, and I pulled it over my head.

Touya flinched ever so slightly as my power rushed out eagerly, alive as the pinpoints of demonic energy swooped down on us.

Then, bracing myself, I pushed my power out, stretching it, and closed my eyes.

One dove at me from my left, and my eyes shot open. I leaped to the right and Touya lunged forward, hurling a spear of ice through the air.

The bomb exploded, and I ducked and shielded the back of my neck as ice shards rained down on me like shrapnel.

Touya's aura appeared at my side, and I stood.

"This is going to be uncomfortable, Touya," I warned, and projected.

My power ballooned outwards, and Touya grimaced as it passed through him, making his hair stand on end. It wasn't powerful enough to hurt him, but…

As it reached the line of bombs, it curved around them, and sparked on contact. The bombs were invisible save for that sign.

I looked up at Touya, feeling the drain on my energy. It wasn't _too_ terrible, but my legs already felt weak. "Will that work?"

He nodded. "Perfectly."

Then, in a flash of blinding movement, he darted ten or so yards away, and pivoted to and fro in front of me, almost swaying, as shards of ice flew from his blurred image. I dropped to the ground to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

More explosions.

Crouched on the ground, trembling from exertion, I gritted my teeth and focused on holding the slipping grasp I had on my power.

There was a score of bombs, hovering around us, seeming to quiver against my shield, shimmering with _his_ malevolent spiritual energy.

Then suddenly, they were gone.

Touya ran up to me, and I pulled the Barrier Stone over my head.

"The others need help," I whispered. I could still hear Jin's wind roaring in the distance. "I don't care that Jin told you to get me out of here. I don't want to abandon them and neither do you, Touya. I can help them." I rose to my feet and stared up at him. "Please," I urged.

In response, he grabbed me and started running again.

We reached the stadium in the lesser part of a minute, and as soon as Touya set me down, I sprinted in a flat run towards the others, ripping my pendant and gloves off and shoving them in my pockets.

I could hear my teeth grinding against each other, the roar of Jin attacking the bombs, the blasts as the explosives detonated.

And, with a violent, mental wrench and a strangled shout, I lifted my defense from my mind and sent it crackling out towards the bombs, hearing the explosions as they veered wildly through the air, hitting each other and exploding.

The wind began to die.

I came to a stop and fell heavily to my knees, trembling. With shaking fingers, I slipped the amulet's chain back over my neck.

I felt my lips turn upward into a vindictive, primal grimace.

Then everything went black.

* * *

**Karasu's POV**

It was really rather amusing.

Their fragility, and stubbornness... Kurama and Reina were very much alike—both fighting hopelessly... the girl battling the bombs I had sent after her, and Kurama fighting death.

Losing battles.

As Kurama was dying where he kneeled—in his human form, defeated and weak—I felt the last of the bombs I had sent after Reina detonate, missing their target, failing.

I considered sending more after her.

_No..._

Kurama's face was fixed; he knew that death was coming soon now. That was why he had sent that flimsy Shinobi protector to hide his precious human vulnerability from me. Contingency plans.

I had a few of my own, on the very unlikely chance that this did not end the way I had planned.

_No distractions._

Besides, the fear in Reina's eyes was something that I would like to relish in person.

Perhaps that was why I was so fascinated by the pair. Reina was very, very human in terror—I knew that by watching her scream and weep as I killed that filthy Takeo boy—and Kurama was her polar opposite in that regard. He seemed to become more indifferent when he was consumed by horror, by complete and bleak hopelessness.

My gaze focused back on Kurama.

He was breathing shallowly, raggedly, the deep and fatal wounds sapping the life from him as he kneeled broken on the ground.

It was foolish of him, really.

He could have simply left, abandoned his comrades and escaped with her. Of course, I would have found them eventually...

...But he was devastatingly, unswervingly loyal. And that was disappointing. I was hoping for a game of cat and mouse... but no, he came to fight just as chivalry dictated.

And as I stared at his death-marked features, memories of their times, ones that I had looked upon without their knowing, came back to me.

"_Would it kill you to be a little more reckless?"_

He won't get a chance to be _reckless_ now, Reina.

"_So if I were to die…?" _

Kurama and Reina talking idly, as I watched from the shadows.

"_I would drag you back from Spirit World and kill you again... Assuming that I can evade Karasu."_

Not likely, girl.

And then, his words to me.

"_One more step, and you will regret it."_

Regret?

I felt a smile slip onto my features. I glided forward, and lifted a hand, preparing to kill him.

I regret nothing.

"_Die_."

* * *

**Kurama's POV**

Everything seemed very slow, now.

I could see it all.

Karasu came towards me, mask-less lips moving, uttering words that I wish I were deaf to.

Because I did not want to.

"_Die_."

Closer. Coming.

And, as I gave in, pulling on my life energy—a last-ditch effort that would surely kill me—I smiled.

_After you._

My energy flowed endlessly into the weapon I had chosen, and it exploded in a tangle of greenery, darting forward like a snake and connecting with its target.

Karasu did not take another step.

His expression had frozen eerily, eyes unblinking, limbs paralyzed, as the plant drained him like a greedy mosquito, growing and quickening the process as it did.

And I let go.

The ground, the darkness came slowly as I slumped forward, numbed, floating.

Oblivion crept over me like a stigma, and I could not help but think of the irony of this... the last thing that she would expect.

And I thought my last words to her, though she would never hear them.

_I'm sorry._

* * *

…**I know. I'm mean.**

**Reviews help me write faster! :D**


	26. Last Resort

**Thank you _MizuKaji, GretchenMichelle, Shadow Ice Maiden, Oakensheild, Wolf-Maiden Mitsuki_, and the anonymous reviewer for reviewing the last chapter! Here's my speedy update :P**

* * *

"_We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment."_

—_Hilaire Belloc_

Last Resort

* * *

**Reina's POV**

"Reina, c'mon..."

Something was shaking me, gently, but firmly. My head lolled from side to side, connected with somebody's arm. Blurred images. My eyes were out of focus.

"...She's still alive, at least," I heard Touya note. His voice was farther away... he was standing over me.

I could feel oblivion creeping over me.

"Then why ain't she saying anything?" Jin wanted to know, voice taut in agitation. "'Er eyes 're open, can't ya see? But she ain't sayin' anything..." He sounded rather disturbed. "Why did'ya bring her back?" he moaned. "Ah _told_ yeh to get her outta here!"

I wanted to tell him to shut up and stop overreacting, but I couldn't seem to make the words come.

"...Maybe you should just let her rest."

There was a silence. I felt myself being lifted into the air, held up by two arms.

"Mebbe yer right. Ah don' know what-all she can do, but blowin' up all those bombs..." Jin's voice trailed off.

"It drained her."

Yes, it did. I was almost gone.

Jin grunted in agreement. I wondered where Chu and Rinku were. I hoped that they were all right.

"...His energy is gone."

The world froze. My blood turned to ice.

Whose energy? I wanted to scream, but nothing came. No noise. No nothing.

Jin grunted in recognition, but it meant nothing to me.

Whose?

Kurama's?

Karasu's?

_Holy, I need to know..._

The darkness was coming fast now. It crept over my vision.

_No, dammit...!_ I shouted desperately in my mind, rebelling against unconsciousness, fighting it. _I have to know... please, god, tell me...!_

Jin and Touya said nothing more.

And the darkness took hold of me, and pulled me under.

* * *

_It was cool and quiet._

_This place again._

"_...So you're back."_

"_Mhm," I muttered, not opening my eyes, frowning at the voice. For a second, I was hoping that maybe I was jumping to conclusions... but this darkness was too familiar. I knew this oblivion._

_Silence._

"_Reina...?"_

_I sighed. "What, Kuronue?" My voice was flat._

"_What did I _do_?"_

_My eyes snapped open at that, and I rose into a sitting position, staring confusedly into his aura-ringed features. The red haze around him made it difficult to focus._

"_Nothing," I said after a moment of puzzlement. "What makes you think that?"_

_Nothing you did, Kuronue. All me. _

_He lowered his head to look me straight in the eye. His ragged hat cast his eyes into shadow. "You don't look right... you're different. What happened out there?"_

_Instead of answering his question, I replied with one of my own, distracting myself._

"_What do you mean by that... 'out there'...?" I queried, pulling my knees to my chest and blinking up at him._

_Kuronue shrugged, and waved vaguely. "Out there. You keep disappearing from here... so I'm assuming that you somehow exist outside the amulet..."_

_I nodded. Amulet. Right. "Yeah, I do. I use the Barrier Stone to suppress my spiritual energy."_

_What a weird dream. But it was a distraction, so I played along._

"_Yeah, I did that too," Kuronue supplied. "When Kurama and I would break into places... I used it to conceal my energy. Worked pretty well too, until the damn chain broke."_

_My brow furrowed. "What happened...?"_

_Kuronue snorted, and sat down beside me. "Kurama and I had just stolen something—naturally—and we were escaping..."_

_Oh. I knew this story. _

"_...The chain broke, and I had some energy stored in the pendant… quite a bit, actually," Kuronue said, shrugging and lifting an eyebrow at me. "You know how that works, right?" **  
**_

_I nodded. "You can store spiritual energy inside the stone," I recited. "And retrieve it when you need it."_

"_That's it. Well, I wasn't just going to leave _that_ kind of investment lying on the forest floor... and, though I realize now that it really wasn't a smart move on my part, I turned back for it."_

"_Kurama always wondered about that," I blurted then. "I could tell that it still bothered him... he never knew why..."_

_Kuronue didn't look at me._

"_You didn't meet Masuyo last time," he said finally, changing subject and rising swiftly to his feet. He held out a hand to help me up, and I took it without thinking, not noticing how easy it was for our auras to be close to each other, how I didn't fry him, how I could control it in here._

_I didn't bother... because it didn't matter anymore._

_Kuronue slung me over his back, spread his wings, and we were flying again. I didn't bother to protest; I didn't even feel a faint rush of fear._

_And when we reached that indigo dome, that swirling mass of familiar energy, and when he set me down, I strode forward and hesitated at the edge of the bubble-like surface._

_I turned and glanced back._

_Kuronue nodded to the aura behind me. "You should go," he hinted. "If you want to find out anything. You're always disappearing."_

_I shook my head, and chuckled wryly._

"_I have a feeling that I'm going to be here a while."_

_And with that, I turned, and stepped forward, into the swirling, familiar miasma._

* * *

_There was light here._

_The dome created it, illuminated it._

_But there was nothing for it to shine on._

_Except for me, as I strode further, towards the center. My shadow flickered and seemed to dance on the floor-like substance... which, as I could now see, looked more like smoke than anything. It was intangible... but it stood firm and my footsteps echoed because of it._

"_Halt."_

_I did, more out of surprise than anything._

_The voice was soft, yet commanding. Gentle, breezy... but had an air of authority that had been fixated there by many years of use._

"_Your name," it commanded softly._

"_Reina," I replied to the voice. I crossed my arms, refusing to be subordinated. "And yours?"_

_The voice took a second to answer._

"_You already know that, Reina."_

_And, as quickly, as quietly as a whisper, she drifted into sight._

_It was like looking into a mirror._

_A pale, rounded face stared at me from behind a fringe of mahogany hair, eyes deep blue, like the aura that surrounded both of us—the exact shade of mine._

_She was a bit taller than me, and her presence was a powerful thing; I knew that in her time she had been respected. Revered, even._

_Her clothes were white. Her stance was regal._

"_I am Masuyo."_

_The declaration rang in the dome, echoed and then faded into silence._

_I stared her straight in the eye._

"_Your aura's like mine."_

_Her lips quirked upwards slightly._

"_Actually, Reina... I believe that it is _your_ aura that replicates mine," she said simply. "It is obvious that I have preceded you... and you have inherited what I once wielded."_

_I frowned, trying to work out what she had said._

"_So... what?" I mused, brow furrowing. "You think that you're... my ancestor or something...?"_

"_I think about things," Masuyo allowed. "when I'm uncertain. I only state them when I _am _certain that I am right. You are my descendant."_

_There was a silence. _

"_This is a dream," I muttered._

_Masuyo shook her head. "It is not. I am here, in the amulet. As is the one who killed me. You have visited this place before, several times… briefly."_

_I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. "The one who killed you?" I asked. "You don't mean... Kuronue?"_

_Masuyo nodded. Her eyes tightened. "I did not allow him to take my life, though. I converted my life energy into spiritual energy, and transferred my soul into this place. The _demon_," her voice seemed to spit the word, "apparently did the same, when his time came."_

"_Life energy... so you committed suicide?"_

_Masuyo frowned at my choice of words. "I spared myself from humiliation. No demon would take my life."_

That's probably what Kuronue did as well,_ I mused to myself. _Saved himself from being killed by the demons that were chasing him and Kurama... all those years ago. Maybe he thought that he could somehow get back out…

_As I thought about that, my surroundings began to dim, to blur._

_An arm shot out and took mine, holding me in place._

"_Masuyo?" I gasped, not out of surprise of her holding me down..._

_But the fact that she _had_ to._

_I was literally hovering over the smoky floor, like I was at the mercy of some freakish reversed gravity._

_Masuyo's eyes pierced mine. "Wear the amulet when you sleep," she ordered. "That will prove it to you. This is real."_

"_O-okay..." I replied._

_She nodded solemnly, and let me go._

_I drifted upwards, defying gravity, and faded. _

* * *

My eyes snapped open.

It was oddly quiet.

I was leaning against something warm, something alive. My legs were stretched out on a bench-like thing... something familiar...

With a startled jerk, I whipped up into a sitting position.

"Puu."

I blinked several times, down at the creature, who was staring innocently up at me from my lap.

"Oh good Reina, you're awake."

"Eh...?" I asked stupidly, lifting my gaze. I had to rub my eyes to get them to focus.

"Botan?" I asked stupidly.

She smiled tiredly, stretching the shoulder that I had been leaning against. "Feeling any better?"

"S-sure..." I muttered, moving my legs off the bench, peering around me. Puu fluttered over to Keiko.

I was back in the stadium.

And there was a blue dome surrounding us, much like Masuyo's...

But no, now was most definitely _not_ the time to be worrying about some figment of my imagination...

"Karasu!" I gasped, feeling the blood drain from my face. I whipped my head around, searching...

Botan's hand steadied me.

"He's dead. Kurama killed him."

I stared at her blankly.

"It's true," Yukina added helpfully, leaning forward, peering around Botan—and, as I now could see, Keiko and Shizuru. Shizuru spared me a glance, but Keiko was rigid, literally on the edge of her seat, clutching Puu, eyes trained on something below.

"How did I get here?" I managed groggily, twisting uncomfortably on the bench, stretching my limbs. They were tight, sore. I grimaced.

"Jin and the others brought you," Shizuru put in, flipping her lighter open and snapping it shut in a nervous, staccato rhythm, not looking at me.

"What's with this thing?" I asked, trying to gather my wits about me, lifting an eyebrow at Botan and pointing to the dome.

"Puu," she replied. "The younger Toguro's energy was killing off demons... so he set up an energy shield."

"Toguro?" I asked confusedly.

"You missed the other fights," Botan explained, flashing a look at me, and training her eyes back on the ring. "This one'll end it... if Toguro wins, so does his team. If Yusuke wins, we win."

I followed Botan's gaze.

Yes, there was Toguro. There was no mistaking that hulking figure.

And Yusuke.

Hunched over, broken and bleeding.

I peered through the dome—Puu's shield—and searched the arena.

Well, what was left of it. The ring was only rubble... and the gaping hole in the side of the stadium that Karasu had created had been widened dramatically, hunks of twisted metal and concrete hanging down from it.

In fact, half of the stadium was gone.

I shook my head in disbelief. How did I sleep through _that_?

I heard Yusuke cry out, a battle cry, and strained and twisted shriek, and saw him as he threw himself across the ring at his opponent, fists flying, slamming into Toguro's discolored, grossly muscled body...

And not having any effect on it.

As my companions and I stared in horror, a casual flick of Toguro's wrist sent Yusuke flying into the air...

And he slammed into the stone stands, scattering shrieking demons and sending up a billowing cloud of dust.

"Oh, wow... Toguro's knocked Yusuke up into the third level..."

Somehow, Koto was _still_ commentating. She should be dead by now. It was only fair.

"Yusuke..." I hissed, peering at the place where he had been thrown, not able to see anything from the smoke.

It wasn't the end, though.

Because, as soon as the demons around us began to collapse, I knew that it was far from over.

"Toguro's _absorbing_ the souls of the audience!" Koto's voice pierced the air, frightened, tight, and completely, utterly helpless.

As soon as that message permeated the air, a swelling roar—the demons crying out in fear—replaced the echoes of Koto's voice.

Puu's energy increased, adding to the shield. Botan lifted her hands and offered up some of her power as well.

The ground began to shake with the force of a thousand panicked footfalls. The demons were fleeing.

Botan and I glanced worriedly at each other, her eyes wide, tears brimming. I could see my reflection in them—there was a dull hopelessness in my eyes, as if I had already given up and didn't know it yet. Like I knew that it was going to come to this.

Of course, it could only get worse.

The ground began to tremble, but not in a way that made me want to jump up and join the running throng...

But in a way that made the ground beneath us snap like a flag in the wind, that made the earth buckle, throwing us from side to side, nearly making those of us who were standing fall to the ground.

And everything went dark.

I stared in transfixed horror as the walls—hundreds of them, metallic and impenetrable—rose into the sky, blotting out the light, casting a dark and final shadow over us all.

Trapped.

We were all trapped.

Heart pounding jaggedly, I looked up at Puu. He was still holding the protective dome, wings sparking with spiritual energy.

How long would it last?

We were captive here. At Toguro's mercy.

Or lack thereof...

My hand, on its own, clutched the Barrier Stone, and my teeth set.

_As soon as Puu's strength gives out, I'll take over,_ I told myself firmly, not allowing me to think of the inevitable—when _my_ energy would be drained completely, when I would die.

A demon—a child, really—took several stumbling steps on the seats below us and fell to his knees. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he was still.

Bile rose in my throat.

After this, I wondered if I would be able to zap a demon again.

"Yusuke, let's go home. This... this isn't real..."

Keiko sagged forward, eyes overflowing and wide, faded and hopeless. I grabbed one of her arms to help her stay up, and she tried to pull away, thrashing weakly in Yusuke's direction. Trying to get to him.

"Yusuke...!" she wailed, voice cracking with sobs, breaking off into a low moan, a sound so deep in despair that I felt helpless at what to do. I patted her back awkwardly, feeling a knot forming in my chest.

What if Yusuke didn't win?

That musing already had an answer, I knew... but I didn't want to think about it.

It crept up on me anyway.

_We'll die. We all will..._

I felt nausea make my head whirl. I swallowed the sickness with a dry throat and thought angrily:

_I'm not going down without a fight. Hiei can outrun Toguro, and he can take Yukina with him... and at least we don't have to worry about Karasu anymore..._

Contingency plans. I was sick of them. Tired of all of this.

_When can we just live life and forget about the rest? _

"Carefully, now..." Botan said gently, taking Keiko's other arm and helping her slump to the floor. She looked at me, and I could see the fear in her eyes.

"_No_!" Botan cried forcefully, randomly, surprising me. She shook her head violently, whipping it from side to side, eyes squeezing shut, hands covering them. "Yusuke can still win this... he can still—and then we can go home!"

She was probably reacting to the expression on my face. I was glad that I couldn't see myself.

I turned my head, averting my gaze.

Denial. I wish I could delude myself that well.

There was no time for that, though. The fight below was still just as vicious as before.

Yusuke was obviously reacting to the death of the spectators—even if they had been against us this entire time. He was fighting again, back from the third level and absolutely livid.

I could see his image flash as he threw himself across the ring at Toguro, driving crippling blows into his opponent's face.

Useless.

A bone-crushing kick from Toguro sent Yusuke careening back across the arena, his already battered body leaving a scar in the ground, connecting sharply with a large piece of rubble. He crumpled to the ground. Facedown.

Yusuke didn't move.

There was a long silence, punctuated only by the screams of the dying demons, of the terrified as they watched their weaker companions succumb to Toguro's power, knowing that they would be next, sooner or later.

Then Toguro moved.

I flinched, sure that this meant more torture for Yusuke, and fought the urge to cover Keiko's eyes.

It wasn't like she would see it anyway. She didn't seem to be aware of anything anymore, kneeling in the dirt, eyes blank, lifeless.

But then Toguro's head turned.

Straight towards us.

Staring at us.

Even from this distance, it was easy to see the leer he cast in our direction, his lipless mouth curving a sadistic scar into his hideously deformed features. It was too clear as his arm lifted over his head.

As he began to glow.

And with a flash of indiscernible movement, his arm dropped, and demonic energy careened in our direction, flowing jaggedly over the stands as it demolished them, coming at us like a hungry animal.

Botan screamed.

Shizuru and I jumped simultaneously, lunging for our friends, to pull them out of the way.

And, in a terrifying _whoosh_, it roared past us.

Missed us.

The explosion was shattering, I could feel it vibrating somewhere deep inside me, taking my breath away. Rubble flew into the air and rained down, like a filthy, frightening hailstorm.

I stared wide-eyed into the gaping hole that Toguro's attack had left, not believing our luck, and released Yukina. Shizuru let go of Keiko, and we stared at the destruction.

We looked back down at the ring.

And Toguro spoke to us.

"Next time," he called in a guttural, feral growl, the amusement clear in his voice, the bloodlust apparent, "I won't miss."

Botan made a small moaning noise, and shook with fear. I gritted my teeth and fought the urge to do the same.

But still, Toguro had _nothing_ on Karasu.

And that was a little empowering. Just a little.

Because I knew that I had already faced my greatest fear. So, what could scare me now?

My gaze flicked from Toguro's features, over to where the rest of the boys were. Kurama, Kuwabara, and Hiei—all inside a protective bubble that Koenma seemed to be invoking.

They were all looking in our direction.

Kurama.

A swell of relief washed over me as we locked gazes, and, suddenly, nothing mattered at the moment.

_No, no, no_, I thought, chastising myself almost embarrassedly. I looked away from Kurama, back down at Keiko, but didn't see her.

The surge of relief was most definitely _not_ appropriate... not with Keiko acting like a vegetable and people dying and...

But, incessantly, nagging at me, the relief refused to leave. It was inescapable, like the walls that surrounded us, closing in on me. Suffocating.

_Time for that later. If there _is_ a later._

_So stop it stop it stop it._

Then, a voice broke through my tangled thoughts.

_Yukina._ A voice demanded, inside my head.

Hiei's mental voice was seething with anger, but, in his own way, absolutely consumed with potent concern for his sister.

_She's fine, Hiei,_ I replied shakily, not bothering to antagonize him.

That was all he needed to know. His mind separated itself from mine, and, realizing that my knees were starting to hurt, I rose out of my kneeling position and stood next to Botan.

Right. No time for good feelings. Protect the others.

I chanted those words in my head, and the relief fled, clearing my thoughts.

"Hmph. Just past twenty and it's all over. I should've gone on more dates."

There was that infamous Shizuru pessimism...

"Don't say that, Shizuru!" Botan cried indignantly, voice quivering from fear and anger. "It's _not_ over...!"

Shizuru shrugged and didn't reply.

We all fell into silence.

"Yukina. Botan. Combine your powers and create a barrier while I'm gone."

Botan, Shizuru, Yukina, and I gaped stupidly at Puu.

He... he had just _talked_ to us—and not in a male voice, either... it was most definitely a woman, ancient and worn.

"Eh..." Botan said helplessly. "E-everybody _did_ hear that, right...?"

"You hear the voices too?" I replied shakily, giggling nervously.

Yukina stared.

Shizuru's cigarette dropped from her mouth.

Puu turned in midair to look at us, in eyes that were not animalistic and cute—but frowning, full of purpose and weighted by it.

"That's... the voice of Genkai..." Yukina murmured.

Genkai.

Then...

What the hell was she doing in Puu's body? Wasn't she the Masked Fighter? I had seen her before... and she was most definitely _not_ Yusuke's spirit beast. She had her _own_ body...

Puu's—Genkai's—eyes flicked over to me, and her beak turned down into an irritated frown.

"Don't even think about it, kid. You're our last resort. Save your strength."

I blinked, a little bemused. For someone who I had never really met, she knew me well.

She knew that I had instantly thought of helping with that barrier.

"Understood," I replied.

And with a semi-satisfied "harrumph," Genkai whipped around in midair and beat her wings, propelling herself down to Yusuke.

"Genkai?" Botan said confusedly. "But... I brought her to Spirit World..."

"Well, someone must've brought her back," Shizuru said logically. "She's possessed Puu's body..."

Spirit World. Where the souls of the... the...

"She _died_?" I blurted out, looking back and forth between them all, incredulity obvious in my tone.

Botan gave Shizuru a helpless look, and she shrugged.

"Yes," Yukina said quietly.

I felt staggered. "How? When?" I fixed my gaze on Botan, who looked extremely awkward, unsure of how to answer me.

"...Toguro," she replied after a silence. Her face was drawn, brow furrowed. "The... the day that you woke up... Genkai went to meet Toguro... or he lured her there... and Yusuke went after her. But he was... too late."

As the words hit me, I remembered.

"_Hey! Kurama, Sparky…!"_

That day... that was when...

_Kurama and I glanced up, as Kuwabara came lumbering into view, out of breath, worry furrowing his brow._

Yes, he was worried. But for the wrong reasons. He thought he was missing something... being excluded from some escapade of Yusuke's...

"'_Bout time I found one of you guys! C'mon, tell me you saw Urameshi run by…" He wheezed, bent double, looking up at us._

...But in that moment, Genkai was dying.

Dead. That's what I would've been... if it hadn't been for her.

Botan and Yukina swept in front of us, obscuring my view of the fight below. Their hands lifted, and a glow surrounded us.

"_NO_...!"

My head jerked up. Yusuke.

"You're nothing but a _STUPID _little hypocrite!" I heard him shout, voice livid, furious. "You told me to commit to something _all the way_ and _I chose my friends_...!"

What? What on earth was Genkai _doing_ to him? I'd never heard Yusuke sound so desperate...

"And now you say _killing _one as _MOTIVATION_ is _OKAY_?"

Shizuru and I shot startled looks at each other.

_What?_

I moved to one side, staring over Botan's shoulder.

Motivation? Killing?

Genkai had told Toguro to _kill_ one of us?

Genkai flapped back into our midst.

I didn't pay her any mind.

I simply couldn't, was not capable of paying attention, as I stared down into the arena...

Because my blood turned to ice... as Toguro's grotesque, muscled arm lifted into the air, and leveled off, pointing...

Straight at Kuwabara.

* * *

**Another cliffy :D. There is one chapter left before the epilogue, I believe. And then the sequel, _With the Tide_ returns!  
**

**Unfortunately a lot of my chapters from the sequel didn't get recovered, so I'm going to have to re-write from scratch :/. But that'll give you all more time to review, eh? :D**

**Thanks for reading!**


	27. Out With a Bang

…**Yeah, I'm ready to finish editing _Against the Grain_. Thus, two chapters in one day. Enjoy! :D**

* * *

"_What you leave behind is not graven in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others."_

—_Pericles_

Out With a Bang

* * *

_No! Not Kuwabara…!_

My mental screams were precisely in tune with what Yusuke was shouting, voice desperate, frantic, breathless.

Like the air had been knocked from him.

Like the sky had caved in.

My legs were weak, and they gave in before I could force myself to stay up, to be strong for once.

Yukina's eyes were wide. Her hands were covering her mouth, fingers closing around words that I knew would never come.

Speechless.

And she was trembling like a leaf in the wind, a fragile, dried up thing, hanging onto its life-giving branch for just a few more seconds…

Right before the wind blew it away.

Yusuke bellowed a wordless oath and launched himself at Toguro, throwing punches into the demon's body, trying to incapacitate him as he strode across the ring.

Closer.

Toguro's arm flicked out carelessly, and Yusuke was brushed aside like an annoying fly, an irritant, something not worth the effort.

Despite Toguro's indifference, the casual blows, Yusuke was driven back as if he had just been hit by a battering ram, sailing back across the ring and connecting sharply with the dirt, scraping deep marks into the soil with the force of his impact.

And he kept getting up.

Again.

Again.

And Kuwabara did not run.

Yusuke ran forwards with a yell, trying to come at Toguro again, to stop him, but Toguro simply grabbed the back of Yusuke's head, and shoved the boy into the dirt, where he lay still.

And Toguro kept walking forward, straight towards Kuwabara, slow, deadly, with sadistic purpose.

Finally, I saw Kurama and Hiei flash forward, crouching defensively in front of Kuwabara, prepared to fight Toguro. To protect their friend.

Somehow, I think Hiei had finally started to care.

But it didn't matter.

Kuwabara took a step forward, edging in front of them, and he turned to face them, saying words that I could not hear.

Yukina was frozen, eyes shimmering.

Then, Kuwabara turned to Toguro, and held out his hand. His Spirit Sword materialized there, a glowing mass in his palm, a testament to what he was about to do.

And, with a cry, he ran straight at Toguro.

"NO! _KUWABARA_...!"

The shout of helplessness, of fear, emitted from several mouths at once. I think I might've been one. My throat was raw with the force of it.

Toguro flashed out of existence.

And Kuwabara came to a halt.

I couldn't look away.

Toguro's hand was shoved deep into Kuwabara's chest, inside his heart, crushing it.

Obliterating him completely.

With a too-casual, indifferent jerk, Toguro pulled his hand out of Kuwabara's heart, and took a step back to admire his handiwork.

It was so quiet.

Kuwabara stumbled forward, falling to his knees. One hand stretched towards Yusuke, the other clutching the gaping wound in his chest, attempting to staunch the flow of blood.

Then, slowly, with terrible finality, he fell to the ground, and did not move.

So silent.

Behind me, I heard Yukina's tears clatter to the floor.

Shizuru lunged forward, tears streaming, mouth open in a scream that I didn't hear. It was like the world was muted, sluggish, not real.

Not real.

It can't be.

I didn't fall to my knees. I didn't cry. I didn't move.

Couldn't, really.

Why do these things keep happening? We can't go back now. Not with another one of us dead.

Gone.

* * *

I watched, numb, as Kurama, Hiei, and Koenma rushed forward, Kurama lifting Kuwabara up from the ground, shaking him. Toguro flashing out of the way, disappearing.

Yusuke paralyzed on the ground.

I felt someone clutching my arm, crying into my shoulder. I was not capable of consoling Yukina.

Nothing would go back to the way it was before. Another one of us, gone. Like Genkai, and Ryo.

Three lives ended because of this tournament. Three people gone because the occult couldn't just leave us alone.

And many other lives affected, many other realities shattered, with their passing.

Finally, Yusuke stood.

A subtle glow, surrounding him. Picking up dust in flurries. Ebbing. Growing.

It swelled into a whirlwind, blue streaks of light, his spiritual energy.

Genkai had wanted Yusuke to win this. With the proper _motivation_.

Well, she was going to get a good fight, at least.

Yusuke's aura flared up into a raging whirlwind, and, as it did, the world took on substance.

There was no room left in me for grief, for remorse. Only awe as I watched Yusuke's spiritual energy flow around the stadium, separating itself into thousands of ice-blue, teardrop-shaped projectiles, surrounding us and giving us a glimpse into the reality that his emotions ebbed and flowed in.

Guilt was there. Fury at himself. More guilt, because he knew...

That was what it took. One of his friends dying, to break down the barrier between his emotions, to help him become his most powerful.

Toguro's image flickered.

A crushing blow sent Yusuke sailing across the arena, gouging a wound into the ground with the force of it, making him skid across the dirt and slam into the stadium wall. He was sitting in a crater.

And he simply got back up again.

There was a long moment that the two just stared at each other.

Then I saw Toguro's leer, and he turned back to the others—Kurama, Hiei, and Koenma.

His intentions were obvious.

_No, you can't take them. Not another._ My fingers were aching from the praying fist that I had clasped them in. My eyes strained for Kurama; my muscles tensed to run out into the arena if I had to. Not him.

_Not him._

_Please..._

But, before he even took a step, Yusuke appeared at his side, faster than any demon I had ever seen, and took Toguro's arm in a bone-crushing grip, staying the monster.

His aura flashed again.

Guilt. Fury. Remorse. Vengeance.

His emotions were floating through the air, raw, alive, real. And it was impossible to ignore the conflict.

It was tearing him apart, ripping his surroundings to shreds.

Literally.

Toguro and Yusuke now stood on a tiny sliver of sod, because Yusuke's spiritual energy had gouged a crater into the ground around them, cutting into the earth, a physical testament to the rage and hurt that was touching us all, making us all feel the same way.

"Win this," I whispered.

Yusuke disappeared.

His fist flashed out of nowhere, and connected with Toguro's face.

Toguro flew backwards, and, for the first time, I heard him howl in agony.

Then he was up, lunging at Yusuke, blows connecting but not doing any damage—Yusuke still threw punch after punch into his opponent's face, driving him back, not caring about the blows he was receiving, not recognizing the pain, because that did not matter to him anymore.

"We... we can hope again." I heard Botan say quietly.

I nodded in agreement, watching the fight with rapt attention.

Then, in a flash, Yusuke attacked with even more force than before.

He was midair, arms out, fingers in his standard "spirit gun" stance, and his spiritual energy converged on the tip of his finger, swirling around him, condensing...

And he fired.

The blast hit Toguro, pushing him backwards through the stadium wall, and it went on into the new walls, our entrapments, punching a hole into one of them. It fell with a crash, shaking the earth beneath our feet.

After that, it still flew on, and on, until it was out of sight.

"Um..." Koto said intelligently into her microphone, voice unsure. I looked over at her, and she (along with Jorge, who was bizarrely seated next to her) was standing up, hand shading her eyes, searching the arena.

Toguro's fist punched through the rubble covering him, sending the shattered fragments flying in all directions.

"Oh—oh _Gawd_...!" Koto yelped.

Toguro's head was resting sideways on his thickly muscled shoulder, his neck bent in half.

He was smiling.

And, with a swift, casual motion, he lifted his hands, and popped his head back into place.

I could _hear_ his bones cracking. From _here_.

I covered my mouth, fighting the urge to retch.

More silence.

Then, a red, sinister aura. Surrounding Toguro.

And his skin boiled, surging, stretching to accommodate even more spiritual energy-induced armor.

Impossible.

Toguro grew, arms thick with flat, hard muscles, face even more grotesque than before. Presence more intimidating.

But... not to Yusuke, I don't think.

He was still standing strong, standing straight, with his shoulders squared and his jaw set into a hard line. He was not going to back down.

Two conflicting emotions threw my thoughts into a state of chaos, riling against each other.

There was this vindictive satisfaction. Looking at Yusuke, I was suddenly sure that he _was_ going to win this. That he was going to make Toguro pay for our friends...

Genkai.

I swallowed, chewing down hard on my lip, not allowing the tears to come.

Kuwabara.

After all, Yukina was crying into her hands, broken and petrified, and even Shizuru was frozen, paralyzed with rivers streaming down her face.

Shizuru had always been strong for us.

It was my turn to do that now.

And then... there was the fear.

Yusuke simply couldn't get any stronger. Another death would break him. Though impossibly strong now, he was incredibly fragile. If Toguro killed another one of us, then Yusuke would not recover. He would lose. And we would die.

My fingers clenched, and I slowly released my lip as I tasted blood.

Strong. Be strong.

Everything existed in this moment. As I looked down into the arena, feelings convoluted, fighting the urge to run, and keep running, I could look back on everything. In an instant.

_The Green Jumpsuit, the boy who I vaguely recognized to be Yusuke, blurted, pointing at me, "Hey, you're that chick who helped out Keiko awhile back, right?"_

_I smiled. "Yep."_

That was the first time I spoke to him.

"'_Cause I'm Kuwabara, and in case you all forgot, I've got a sword!"_

Kuwabara's infamous bravado.

_Yusuke brushed past me with a sullen look, hands in pockets, but Kuwabara paused and gestured me forward._

"_Ladies first, Sparky."_

Oh holy, that _ridiculous_ nickname.

I felt a small, painful smile appear on my features, and I felt like laughing almost—it was bubbling up in my throat, making my eyes water.

Kuwabara, what are we going to do without you?

Everything was depending on Yusuke, now. Did he have the will to end this?

He lowered into a fighting stance, and lifted his hands.

His aura, which had been circling the stadium, changed course and flowed back to him, condensing at his fingertip. A miniature sun, glowing at the end of his hand, growing and condensing and sending off waves of energy, spiritual energy that kicked up dust and whipped it back into our faces.

He was at his most powerful. I was sure of that.

But the question was... would it be enough?

Toguro was compensating for Yusuke's final attack already, his aura glowing like a flame as it surrounded him, whipping around and scorching the dirt around him. He had himself in a fixed, defensive position, arms outstretched, teeth bared into a terrible snarl.

And, for several seconds, time froze.

Botan and Shizuru and Yukina lifted their faces from their hands, grief-stricken features hardening into something more potent than hope—a desperation, the look of people that have seen too much in too short a time, and were finally glimpsing something more than they had ever imagined. Feeling something that they couldn't quite describe—something more than ferocity, something more than pride.

I could feel it, too.

And then, Yusuke attacked.

With an earsplitting blast, Yusuke's spirit gun fired off, sending the enormous globe of spiritual energy across the arena and over into Toguro's face—a strand of spiritual energy was attached to Yusuke, as he still fed his last attempt with everything that he had.

And it connected with Toguro.

And stopped.

_Stopped._

Toguro's grotesque arms circled the blast, clutching it to him as it ripped away at his armor.

Hell, I could hear him _screaming_.

And there was no doubt about it—his shrieks of agony were the best things I had heard in a _long_ time.

The strand connecting Yusuke's spiritual energy to him dissipated, and Yusuke fell to his knees, totally spent.

Toguro battled on.

His arms flexed, like he was trying to crush the spirit gun's attack, but I could tell that his arms would not—could not—move any more. Could not find the strength to fight back—couldn't even gain an _inch_.

He had met his limit.

And Yusuke had exceeded it.

I watched as the blast tore at him, destroying him. As it began to win.

As Yusuke's spiritual energy finally ran out, and was no more.

There was a long, long silence.

Toguro was still standing, smoke rolling off of his destroyed flesh. It curled lazily into the air, making changing patterns, creating a haze around him.

_Crack._

A thin line split his forehead.

_Crack._

Down his face.

_Cracckkkk._

It splintered off into spiderweb-thin lines, faceting his face like a sheet of glass. It spread across his chest, his arms.

It was all very quiet.

And then he shattered.

All of the armor was gone; it flew in the air, flying outward, upward. The shards plummeted to the ground, leaving him vulnerable.

All of his power was gone.

Gone.

And the younger Toguro fell forward, slowly, and lay facedown on the ground.

And did not move.

* * *

"It's... it's over."

Botan's quiet words were awed, almost disbelieving.

The rest of us simply stared down at the two opponents, silent. Wordless.

They were both down.

Yusuke and Toguro.

"Um... that's hard to call," I heard Koto observe.

For the first time in my life, I agreed with her.

"Juri! Start the count!" Koto cried.

I heard a surprised yelp, and Juri, who had been hiding the entire duration of the match, edged out into the center of the arena, looking about her nervously as the silent stadium watched her with hundreds of eyes.

Not even the demons breathed.

"Oh, ew..."

Juri had obviously spotted what was left of Toguro.

"U-um..." Juri stammered, peering down at Toguro with the revolted fascination of someone who was completely disgusted but couldn't manage to look away.

"Juri! Behind you!"

The announcer whirled around, hand flying convulsively to her throat... as Yusuke slowly rose to his feet. Standing.

Alive.

Botan started laughing hysterically.

"Oh, we can go home now...!" she cried, pumping a fist into the air. Both Shizuru and Yukina were smiling oddly, and they were probably wondering the same thing I was.

_How can we still be happy... how can we be smiling when the tears we cried for Kuwabara haven't even dried yet? _How?

Koto leaped from the stands, and darted to the center of the ring. Both she and Juri lifted their hands into the air, and lifted their microphones to their lips.

"The winner of the tournament... Team Urameshi!"

Every demon in the stadium started cheering.

"Well done," I murmured, letting my face fall into my hands, covering my eyes as they finally began to leak. "All of you."

"Oh!" I heard Yukina gasp, and I looked up just in time to see Yusuke fall to his knees.

Hiei, Kurama, and Koenma rushed forward, and Kurama pulled Yusuke up into a kneeling position. Koenma leaned in concernedly, and Hiei stood off to one side, arms crossed, impassive but watchful.

"He's probably just tired," I assured Yukina, flicking the tears from my eyes. "He was standing just a minute ago... he'll be fine..."

I was wrong.

Yusuke jerked violently away from Kurama, fingers clawing the ground, back bent, trembling.

"DAMMIT...!"

We all fell silent.

I could hear him saying things, but I couldn't make out the words. They were all too far away. Kurama leaned forward, and I saw his lips move. Trying to console him.

Yusuke slumped further to the ground, forehead pressing into the dirt.

"_SHUT UP!_ What good does that do, huh? He's _dead_ now, I can't tell him _anything_! Is that so hard to _get…_?"

Botan's hands were covering her mouth. Shizuru stared down at them, expression fixed. Yukina's tears were clinking against the stone again. And I clasped my hands together, fingernails digging into skin, head bowing, gritting my teeth to keep myself as composed as Shizuru seemed to be. Strong. Invincible in disregard.

I couldn't focus on it. If I did... I would go insane.

"I'm just like everyone else! I can't do anything to... to... _DAMMIT_...!"

I heard Yusuke punch the ground with his fist.

"I'm _sorry_, Kuwabara...!"

More silence.

Then, Botan grabbed my arm, shaking me. I looked up.

And saw Kuwabara rise to his feet.

It took several seconds for it to sink in.

And then I began to laugh.

Hysterically.

"Kuwabara..." I giggled, "you... you _idiot boy_... I am _so_ going to kill you...!"

"That's my job," Shizuru put in, looking a bit too happy about the potential murdering of her recently revived brother, flipping open her Zippo and lighting a cigarette. She took one long drag, and then threw it to the ground, stomping on it with a little more force than was necessary.

"I'm so relieved Kazuma's okay..." Yukina said softly, hiding a small smile behind her hands.

It was a complete one-eighty from the sorrow and guilt that we had all been subjected to—we were all grinning now, happily, because we could see now...

That it had all been a ruse.

It _must've_.

I turned to talk to Keiko, then saw her and remembered.

Oh right.

Brain-dead.

I stepped over to where she was still kneeling, and knelt beside her, shaking her shoulder and talking quietly.

"Hey, Keiko... it's all right now."

She stared into space. Dazed and unaware.

I shook her a little less gently.

"Keiko... wake up. Yusuke's fine, and so is Kuwabara and..." I bit off the last name that I was going to say.

_No giving in_, I chided myself, letting my hand slip from Keiko's shoulder and rocking back on my heels, staring at her as she stared at nothing.

"Hey, I understand," I murmured. "It hurts when you think... when you think he's gone. Trust me, I _know_. But he's fine now. We all are."

Sounds of fighting instantly distracted me from my persuasion, and I looked up curiously, wondering who was fighting who and why.

I stood.

Of course.

Yusuke was obviously quite pissed, and I at least could understand _why_ he was pounding Kuwabara's face in...

But he really was defeating the point, wasn't he?

Instead of shouting down at him to break it up, I simply chuckled into my hand, along with the rest of the girls. Yukina was guiltily trying to hide her amusement with her hand, but to no avail.

Finally, Yusuke released Kuwabara's shirt collar, and, after falling to the ground and struggling to get up for a few moments, Kuwabara sprang to his feet. And started walking to Yusuke, fist raised, revenge probably on his mind.

Then he hesitated, and his hand fell to his side. He stared at something across the arena, and I followed his gaze.

I frowned. That man from earlier... I had seen him before... wasn't he the owner of Team Toguro?

Raven-haired and coolly businesslike, the man (wasn't it S-something?) seemed to be speaking with the boys.

I wished I could hear. Judging from the defensive ways that Team Urameshi were eyeing S... (Sakyo, that was it), whatever the man was saying could _not_ be good.

Once bitten, twice shy. Anything remotely life-threatening had my attention.

Sakyo's arm moved, and he reached into his pocket, pulling out something.

Recognition flooded through me. But it was not the object that Sakyo was holding, which was bulky and electronic...

But the _way_ that he was holding it.

I instantly remembered one of Kurama's fight... his first one, I think, against Roto.

Roto hadn't been a very powerful demon, but he had posed a daunting complication... the trigger that he had been holding was directly tied to Ms. Minamino, Kurama's mother. Roto had his lackeys stalking her... and, with a simple push of the trigger, they would have attacked her.

Roto had used that to beat Kurama into submission, then Kurama's anger had finally finished the fight. Roto had died instantly.

Kurama never was lenient to those who threatened the ones he loved.

And Sakyo... Sakyo was holding the thing with the same air. The same finality. The same power.

Like he was holding our lives in his hands.

I took a step forward, heart lurching into my throat, as Sakyo lifted his other hand to depress the trigger.

I was right.

A shudder ripped through the stadium, like an earthquake. I stumbled forward, almost slipping to my knees as the ground snapped underneath my feet like a towel. My palms were scraped raw as I balanced myself against the tremors, and my heart sank like a stone.

Then, a female, electronic voice. Too uncaring for the words that it uttered.

_Stadium detonation now commencing. Fifteen minutes._

Botan and I gaped at each other.

"Oh _hell_ no."

* * *

_Stadium detonation, fourteen minutes. Stadium detonation, fourteen minutes._

As one, the demons began to riot, screaming and running desperately. Shards of rubble rained down on us.

I lurched from my semi-kneeling position, and whirled around to where Keiko was swaying, grabbing her shoulders and peering directly into her face.

"Keiko? Keiko? Do you hear _that_? We have to go, _right now_...!"

Nothing. No expression.

"W-what's wrong with her...?" Yukina asked uneasily, bending over the girl and shooting me a perplexed look.

I shook my head. "Shock, probably. I mean... all of this was probably too much to take." In retrospect, I was _very_ glad that I had missed most of Kurama's fight.

"What do we do…?" Botan cried, stepping backwards towards us, watching the ceiling warily. I glanced at it too—with all of this shaking, the stadium might _collapse_ before it blew.

Shizuru silently slipped away, setting off at a brisk pace. I watched her retreating back for a moment, then turned back to Keiko. After all, she was a Kuwabara. And apparently they were invincible. She could take care of herself.

"Keiko..." Yukina was saying.

"All right," I growled, and then bent forward, grabbing her arm and slinging it over my shoulders. I straightened up easily, and then…

Fire raked sharp nails of pain across my back, and with a strangled hiss, I dropped Keiko as carefully as I could, and fell to my knees beside her. Yukina fussed over me fretfully, and I hung my head, breathing deeply.

"We can't carry her out," I muttered after I had caught my breath, thinking of alternatives. "We don't have enough time to find an exit and haul her through it... maybe Jin could fly her out..." With that thought, I stood and turned, stepping down into the stone bleachers and peering through the cloud of dust that was being shaken from the walls, looking for a familiar shock of red hair.

No, only Kurama's, which was headed our way.

Kurama.

Relief again.

I shook it off angrily. Okay, not the time _then_, and _certainly_ not the time now. Get a hold on yourself, Reina.

No Jin. But the boys were coming. I turned back to Keiko, Botan, and Yukina. If Yusuke just talked to Keiko, then maybe...

I walked back over to them.

"The boys are coming, I think."

"HOLD ON! YOUR LOVING AND LOYAL KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR IS COMING, MY SWEET _YUKINA_…!"

I looked back down, and, unsurprisingly, found Kuwabara carving a path through the fleeing demons, making a beeline towards us. Well, namely, Yukina.

"What do you know?" I said sarcastically, sniggering as Kuwabara galloped up the stairs. "I was right."

"She isn't responding to anything..." Yukina told me as I turned, kneeling down at Keiko's side.

"She's gone completely catatonic..." Botan said in defeat, sitting back on her heels. I reached out and shoved one of Keiko's shoulders. She wobbled slightly, but still didn't seem to be aware of anything at the moment.

"Hey Yukina, I'm here to _rescue _you...!"

Kuwabara was grinning idiotically, a few yards to my left, waving cheerily at us despite the rubble raining down around him.

"Kazuma," Yukina said breathlessly, rising to her feet and taking a few steps towards Kuwabara. "There's something wrong with Keiko... we can't get her to move or do anyth—"

She bit off her sentence, head whipping to one side as we all gasped aloud, as one.

A large section of the wall cracked away from the whole, and began to fall towards her, casting a dark an ominous shadow over her tiny form.

"_YUKINA_...!" I yelped, lunging forward, but it was too late. The section of wall slammed into the ground, and dust flew into my face. I stared dumbly at the airborne grit.

But when it cleared, I sighed in relief.

Hiei's arm was wrapped securely around his sister's waist; he had used his blinding speed to save her from harm.

"Whew," I said weakly, feeling a nervous smile quirk the edges of my lips up. "Nice save, Hiei..."

"Hn," he replied as per usual, and helped Yukina to her feet. He glared back at Kuwabara, who was still frozen.

"You are useless," he snapped.

Kuwabara seemed too shocked to say anything. My eyes slipped past him and landed on Yusuke, who was being held up by Kurama, and I took a few rushed steps forward.

"Yusuke..." I eyed the wall warily, and edged away from it. My eyes flicked back to Yusuke's. "Keiko... she's not well."

"_What?_" Lifting his arm from Kurama's shoulders, Yusuke limped forward. I reached out and grabbed his arm. He looked like he was about to topple over.

"How?" Yusuke asked curtly, eyeing Keiko as she stared into nothing. Another shudder shook the foundations.

"While you were fighting," I answered somberly, releasing his arm but shadowing him as he walked forward, afraid that he might fall.

"Post-traumatic stress," Botan added, wringing her hands. "And, like with _everything_ else, Keiko _excels_ at it!"

Yusuke sank to his knees beside her, and stared at her expressionless eyes.

"Hey, Keiko," he said softly.

Nothing.

He went from gentle to furious in the lesser part of a second. It was truly remarkable.

Yusuke grabbed Keiko's collar in both hands and shook her. "_Hey_! Did you hear me? I said _hey_, it's _Yusuke_! We can go _home_ now...!"

Still, nothing. Keiko stared at Yusuke, but didn't seem to register his existence.

"Well, so much for that," Yusuke seethed between his teeth. His fingers clenched.

"Listen—I'm _sorry_ but... we don't have any more time to talk!"

And, with that, he drew one hand back, keeping a firm hold on her collar with the other, and proceeded to slap her senseless.

Keiko's head jerked back and forth, red welts appearing on her cheeks, while we all cringed in horrified fascination from the blatant show of domestic abuse. I glanced next to me to give Kurama a: "Well, what are you going to _do_ about this?" look, but he shook his head and winced as Yusuke continued to beat his girlfriend, screaming wordless garble at the top of his lungs.

Then, Keiko finally woke up.

"HOW _DARE_ YOU—YOU _JERK_...!"

Keiko twisted out of Yusuke's grasp, and, barely batting an eye, she whipped her hand back and struck him. The force sent him flying backwards to land at my feet, and I recoiled, lifting my foot away from his dazed face, gaping down at the spectacle.

There was a long silence.

Then, Keiko snapped back into reality.

"Wha—where... what's going on?" she stammered, catching my gaze, eyes wide. She frowned a bit when she saw the look of apprehension on my features, then looked at my feet, and promptly gasped. "Yusuke!"

"I think he's dead," Kuwabara put in tactfully, poking the side of Yusuke's head.

I rolled my eyes, and bent down to Yusuke's level, grimacing at the saliva pooling around his mouth.

"He may have taken out and insanely powerful demon but... that's _nothing_ compared to the fury of a woman scorned," I noted, lifting one of Yusuke's arms and pulling it around my shoulder. "Especially Keiko's fury…" Kurama sidestepped me, taking Yusuke's other arm and helping me heft the boy to his feet. My back twinged a little, but didn't sear in agony.

"Agreed," Kurama added, and our company started off for the exit.

* * *

_Stadium detonation, three minutes. Stadium detonation, three minutes._

"What's the holdup?" Kuwabara cried loudly as we rounded another corner, and were greeted by a crowd of panicked demons.

We began to push through, and several demons hissed at us. I jerked off the Barrier Stone, and flexed my fingers at them, which sparked with energy.

"Back off if your life means _anything_ to you," I snarled, shooting a jolt of electricity at one demon, who yelped and scampered off.

"Aw, damn..."

The exit was blocked by a pile of rubble, and we all stared up at it, aghast.

"_Now_ what do we do?" Kuwabara asked, throwing up his hands.

"Get out of the way," Yusuke answered, pulling away from Kurama and staggering towards the obstacle. He stumbled, and Kurama and I automatically caught him.

"Don't be ridiculous, Yusuke," I chided wearily, shaking my head. "You'll kill yourself."

"You don't have any strength left," Kurama added.

Yusuke glowered at him. "Well, neither do you, so what's our choice?"

_Stadium detonation, two minutes. Stadium detonation, two minutes._

"What do we _do?_" Botan cried. "We don't have _time_ to find a new exit!"

I bit my lip and began thinking of ways to escape this alive.

I was thinking along the lines of having one of the demons in our group cast some of their spiritual energy into the rubble, so I could shoot mine at it and make the rocks explode, but cast that thought aside, realizing that the tunnel would probably collapse and I probably would black out. No way was I going to endanger one of my friends by forcing them to drag me out of here.

_CRACK._

I stared at the rubble. A large fissure had split one of the larger boulders, and was growing.

_CRACKKKK..._

Then, with an earth-shaking _BOOM_, the rubble exploded.

Painful pieces of rock showered down on me, stinging my arms as I threw them up to protect my face. Several of our companions cried out, jerking back. Someone grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the way.

"How goes it, mate?" A familiar voice boomed.

The smoke began to clear, and I instantly realized that the wall blocking our escape had been blasted through, obviously courtesy of the combined efforts of Jin, Touya, and Chu, who were standing proudly in the opening.

"...A lot better now, I guess," Yusuke said after a few moments of stunned silence, grinning.

Demons were pouring out of the opening, shrieking in fear but giving our demon rescuers a wide berth. Chu was pretty intimidating when he wanted to be.

I was beaming now, despite the shrapnel-sized rubble bouncing off of my head and shoulders.

"Right... I would love to hear what you lot have been doing all this time, but we really should be getting the hell out of here," I advised mildly, smirking.

"Good idea!" Botan cried in agreement, and darted through the opening, latching onto my arm and scampering for freedom.

I managed a few glances back as Botan jerked me after her like I was a ragdoll, and could see that Hiei was keeping pace with his sister, strides clipped and military, frowning—irritated because he was traveling at semi-human speed. Yusuke and Kurama seemed to be doing all right, and Keiko was bringing up the rear, clutching a frantically chirping Puu and trying to keep up with Yusuke.

Kuwabara was running like a madman after Hiei and Yukina, waving his arms wildly and bellowing wordless oaths. In that way, he managed to keep the fleeing apparitions from crowding us; they shied automatically from his insanity and streaked across the field as we broke free of the stadium, darting jerkily through the grass.

It was almost like a nightmare, but not quite. I could hear the stadium crumbling, could hear the disembodied robotic voice counting down to its demise... but in that second before the blast, a small grin slipped onto my features, and I felt free.

Karasu was dead.

Kurama was alive.

My friends and I were back together again.

And in that very second, the stadium exploded.

The force of the fiery blast sent most of us sprawling to the ground. Ironically, the wounded fighters of our group kept their footing and skidded to a halt to whip around and look back at the destruction.

I shoved Botan's arm off of my face, checking to see if she was all right (she seemed dazed but unharmed) and craned my head for a better look, raising a hand in front of my face to shield my eyes.

Where the stadium had been, there was now a towering pillar of smoke, flame, and ash. It was ten times bigger than the structure, and I felt my mouth pop open in awe as I watched the mushroom cloud billow into the atmosphere.

Holy hell.

Botan gave me a strange look that told me I had uttered my oxymoronic sentiments aloud, but I ignored her and shoved myself to my feet, not bothering to brush the grass off of my jeans.

I eventually wandered to the front of the group, because Kuwabara (who was excitedly shouting something about action movie escapes) was blocking my view of the sinister, yet oddly fascinating devastation.

Nothing in there could've survived.

Nothing...

My hand leaped to my mouth as I realized who was missing.

Shizuru and Koenma! Dammit dammit dammit...!

I looked about me for a wild second of panic, then I saw them. Shizuru was actually standing next to me, not looking at me. Koenma was a little ways off to my left.

How they had gotten out without my noticing, I don't know. But I was most definitely relieved to see that they had escaped with the rest of us.

"Pretty damn incredible," Shizuru muttered dispassionately, hand clutched around a rectangular black thing, eyes—startlingly—shining with unshed tears. I hurriedly averted my gaze, partly out of respect for Shizuru's emotions, but mostly because if she knew that I had seen her crying, she would never allow me to leave the island alive. Not with _that_ sort of sensitive information...

Someone prodded my shoulder gently, and I looked up to see Kurama smiling in an odd way down at me.

"You are not hurt?" he questioned, the concern genuine, eyes scanning my features for any injury or falsehood.

I was momentarily speechless from the absurdity of his inquiry.

Kurama looked like _hell_. And not even holy hell.

His face was scratched and beaten up. There was a long cut across his forehead, and from the way that he was blinking, blood must've run into his eyes and dried them out. His bottom lip was swollen.

My eyes darted down and up, and I took in the long, blood-spotted bandage he was sporting on one of his legs, and the gauze wrapping his arm.

"Um, Kurama..." I said slowly, for the first time in my life speaking to _him_ as if he were retarded, "You're asking _me_ if _I'm_ hurt? Have you _seen_ yourself...? You look like—ike..." I tried to come up with a comparison, but failed and spluttered into stunned silence.

His lips quirked upwards in amusement at my verbal failure, and he waited patiently for me to get it out of my system, shifting his weight to his good leg and rubbing at some dried blood on his cheek. When he saw my look of horror at his actions, he smiled a little sheepishly.

"You look like hell," I managed finally, frowning worriedly.

I leaned forward, peering concernedly up into his face.

"You okay?" I murmured.

Something flashed in his eyes, then he smiled. It looked off, forced.

"You cannot imagine," he replied, and looked away, up at the flames streaking high, slurring the horizon into a sinister mix of sparks and blue skies.

That silence again.

_No, Kurama._ I followed his gaze, somehow, even after all of this, feeling content.

_I think I can, actually._

* * *

The Dark Tournament had ended in a "Big Bang." (Kuwabara's words, not mine.)

Yusuke had said something...

He had looked up at the sky, and called out to Genkai.

Telling her that we had finished it.

Then it really hit me... Genkai was dead.

I knew that maybe I had been a little preoccupied back there, and there wasn't really time to mourn with the last fight going on and the stadium, (not to mention the entire structure falling down around us.) It was a little distracting, I knew...

But I also knew that I should be sad about Genkai's death… after all, I owed the psychic my life. She restarted my heart, quite literally bringing me back to life, after Karasu's attack.

But I never knew her.

I don't think I even spoke to her… not once.

Besides the time that I had said one word to her when she had possessed Puu... but...

But she was dead, and, guiltily, I realized that it didn't bother me as much as it should've. She was… essentially, a stranger to me. I wasn't privy to what made Yusuke uncharacteristically silent as we made our way back to the hotel, because I knew, from the look in his eyes, his furrowed brow, that he was deep in thought over her death. I couldn't relate to him, or anyone else in the group.

…Well, except for Keiko. She had the same look in her eyes, the "I'm-confused-but-I'm-not-going-to-say-anything" expression. Like me, she realized that Genkai was a sore subject, and she didn't comment on it out of respect for the departed.

Of course, my awkwardness didn't go unnoticed. As per usual, Kurama was observing everyone around him with a keen eye, and the fact that I was keeping pace with him didn't help much.

"It's over," Kurama observed quietly, carefully, glancing down at me as we trudged, with the other survivors, down the path.

I nodded and "mhm'd" for his benefit, not really paying attention, absorbing myself in thought.

I would think about it tomorrow. Sort out what was guilt, and what was genuine sorrow. I wouldn't disrespect Genkai's memory with uncertainty.

But, as I decided on that, another musing reared up and captured my thoughts. I allowed myself to think of it.

Things were different.

But, somehow… they were exactly the same.

Kurama and I had both changed from this. I could feel it in the very fiber of my being; I could see it in his eyes.

I hesitated in the middle of the path, staring hard at the ground. Kurama paused too, and turned to give me a questioning look.

"Reina…?"

I didn't look up. Instead, I turned and looked back.

The smoke of the ruined stadium rose black against the sky, a stain against the clouds.

Yes, I had changed. We both had. Equally.

"Things will never be the same again," I heard myself say slowly, watching the smoke as it made its ugly way into the atmosphere.

Kurama didn't answer.

I pivoted slightly, and studied him.

His face and expression stood out, dimming the world around him into nothing. His face was a beacon, drawing looks from the demons passing us, and fixing my eyes on his irrevocably.

He would always look that way.

And it wouldn't be just me who noticed that, either. The world would see him and recognize him as someone who had seen things, too many things for a lifetime.

He had aged.

"You've changed," I said quietly. "We all have."

And I saw that he understood exactly what I meant.

His head inclined slightly, and he looked me straight in the eye. The message was clear before he even opened his mouth to speak.

"We will not forget," Kurama told me, words clear, every syllable weighted and precise. "We cannot."

There was a silence.

"We shouldn't," I added in a strangely light tone. I nodded to myself. "We owe them that. Ryo and Genkai…"

His name didn't hurt anymore.

I considered that.

Maybe it was because that—Ryo's death—had not been rock bottom. And when I had hit it, when I'd thought Kurama had died… well… I had survived the absolute worst, and everything else was something that I knew that I could recover from, somehow.

And I think that Kurama understood that. Because, as we stood in silence, he lifted a hand and stretched it out to me. A wordless, but no less appreciated, reassurance.

I stepped towards him, and our fingers met. His hand was strong and warm.

We continued on, and didn't speak.

It wasn't necessary.

* * *

**Wait a sec... there's something off here...**

**Eh? No cliffhanger! ;)**

**The next chapter is the epilogue. Somehow I lost two chapters in this revision; I don't know how I did it—nothing was left out. We're ending with 28 chapters where there used to be 30. Eh, oh well. It's still an even number.**

**But yes, the next chapter of ATG is also the last. Stay tuned for the sequel, _With the Tide_!**


	28. Epilogue: Against the Grain

**This is the final chapter of _Against the Grain_. Yeah, three chapters in one day. What of it? :P**

**(You're welcome :D )**

**Stay tuned for the sequel, _With the Tide_! It should be out soon. So put me on author alert and keep your eyes peeled!**

* * *

"_To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing."_

—_Unknown_

Epilogue: Against the Grain

* * *

The early morning light cast a soft, grey glow over my surroundings.

It was quiet, but not unnaturally so. In this place, everything should be silent. It was just... right.

I picked idly at the dead grass as I stared at Ryo's headstone, cross-legged on the ground, thoughts pensive.

It was a stroke of luck, really, that I had managed to find this place again. It had been dark when Kurama and I had walked back, but for some reason, every step that I had taken seemed to be burned into my memory.

"Hey," I said quietly.

The only answer I got was a light breeze, which ruffled my unbound hair, blowing strands into my face.

Well, what did I expect?

I felt a sad, wry smile creep onto my features.

"You know, I'm leaving today."

The headstone stared blankly at me. Ryo's headstone.

I cast my gaze to the ground, and fingered a particularly stubborn piece of grass that refused to be uprooted.

"You won't be mad, right?"

I scrubbed at the shriveled up blade.

"Karasu's dead. Maybe you saw him, if you're hanging out a little while before you go to heaven. Hope you gave him additional hell."

My lips quirked at the joke, and my gaze flicked back up to the headstone. They moved upwards, up the trunk of the tree that Kurama had planted in Ryo's memory.

With a small, sad smile on my face, I pushed myself to my feet, and stared down at Ryo's grave.

"So. This is... goodbye."

No answer. I didn't expect one.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, ducking my head in a self-assuring nod. Then I turned to leave.

He was standing there, at the edge of the trees, silent and hesitant. I smiled tiredly at him.

"Hey, Kurama."

He studied my features for a split second.

"Hello," he replied quietly, just loud enough for me to hear, and started across the field.

I walked towards him, and we came to a stop halfway, pausing, simply looking at each other.

"You followed me," I noted, as a cold breeze pushed past us, blowing straight through me.

"Yukina was worried," he stated calmly, and dug in his pocket, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper, "...when she woke to this." He offered it to me. I took it.

I knew what it said; I had written it myself. The stereotypical "I'm going out, might get hopelessly lost in the woods. If I miss the boat, I'm wandering out there somewhere."

Feeling my lips quirk upwards, I understood her concern.

"You are not lost," Kurama said, lifting an eyebrow.

"No."

More silence. I stared up at him, and saw concern there. Pity.

"Reina..."

"I'm all right now," I interrupted firmly. I felt my lips turn up by themselves, so it must be true. "Really." I studied the slight skepticism in his features. "And you?"

His eyes softened. "I am fine," he answered, voice steady and soothing. Believable.

I nodded, averting my gaze to the ground. We stood there in silence.

And, oddly... even here... I felt fine. Really.

I was utterly safe in the promise of the future... of tomorrow. Good things could happen. They would; I was sure of it.

_Thank you, Ryo_, I thought silently. _I wouldn't have a tomorrow... if it wasn't for you._

My heart lifted considerably, as if it had been released from weighted shackles. Floating free.

Happy.

And, feeling a genuine grin appear onto my features, I raised my face and looked at Kurama.

"So, then," I said lightly. "What're we waiting for? Let's get out of here."

If he was surprised at my change of emotion, he didn't show it. Instead, a relieved sort of smile brightened his features, and he nodded.

With no more agreement than that, he turned, and I matched his pace as we made out way back to the path.

At the mouth of the trail, I turned, looking over my shoulder.

The sun was almost risen, and striking rays of golden sunlight shot through the early morning mist, swirling around like dancing specters, and glinted off of the dew that was collected on Ryo's headstone.

"Thank you," I murmured, and turned to follow Kurama.

* * *

There was no noise of any kind this early in the morning as we trudged down the path; no birds singing, nothing of the sort. Only the occasional twig snapping under my clumsy human steps, the whisper of my feet lifting rotting leaves from the forest floor.

Kurama still surprised me with his very real, but unheard company. I could see him at my side, but there was no sound as he glided across the damp growth.

Silence. I was getting pretty good at that.

I looked away from Kurama and focused on walking. Or tried to. My conscience had other ideas.

"_It's… ridiculous, Kurama. Karasu's a bad liar. Don't concern yourself..."_

Memories, laden with an edge of chagrin that I could not ignore.

"_Perhaps I shouldn't, but I'm going to regardless," he said quietly, and something in his voice made me look at him. I sensed a double meaning, and wondered why._

I had been nervous then, I realized. Wary of the implications. Desperate to remain cool and impassive.

"_Seriously… Karasu's insane. Don't bother yourself with the ravings of a madman."_

"_Reina… please." Kurama's eyes held mine. "I need to know this."_

There was that double meaning. He had guessed it, I supposed... he knew all along... why.

_He didn't look like he was going to give up anytime soon. I felt the flush fade from my face, and I shook my head, resigning myself._

Resigned to speech. But not to his answer. Most definitely _not_...

...Not yet, anyway.

"_Alright… but, listen… I know what he said was a lie, so you don't need to worry about… well… I'll just tell you," I finished, aggravated that I couldn't put my thoughts into words, without sounding too mushy._

"_Please elaborate."_

'…_Loves you.'_

Karasu knew too. He knew the truth, and I was too stubborn to see it for myself. Too proud.

But now...

_I am never going to live this down._

"_Ah… well…" I said awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck with my hand, chewing on the inside of my lip. "He said that you… oh, it's ridiculous… he said that you … loved… me."_

Out into the open now, nothing I could do about it. I had basically sealed my fate with my own words.

_There, it was out. And the unfathomable expression on Kurama's face didn't help._

"_But I know it's ridiculous," I said hurriedly, forcing a small, amused grin. "I didn't believe him for a second…"_

I drew my hood tighter around my face, cheeks stinging from the frostiness of the morning, and the nervous frown on my features.

_I mean, he couldn't possibly…_

Kurama glanced down at me, noticing how I was fidgeting, and then returned his attention to the path again.

…_Could he?_

I knew what I had to do, now. I had to talk to him—get some closure at least. Kurama wouldn't begrudge me that.

I glanced up at Kurama.

He seemed to be unaware of the frigid weather—his hands were thrown into his pockets from casual habit, jacket unzipped and flapping in the light breeze. His eyes were trained on the path, face habitually impassive, neutral.

I looked back down, and we continued on in silence as I collected my thoughts.

"Kurama?" I asked hesitantly as we walked, not meeting his gaze.

"Hm?" In my periphery, I saw him glance over at me.

I looked over at him. "I just… I'm sorry," I said quickly, ready to get it over with. "I wish… I wish I didn't feel this way. So I wouldn't be making things difficult for you." I shoved my hands into my jacket pocket, glancing down at the ground. "Maybe then it wouldn't hurt so much."

"Ah," he said quietly, and we walked on in silence.

"I… I think I'll be able to get over it," I murmured. "I don't know how I'm going to do it yet, but I know I'm going to have to.

"Just don't…" I paused in the middle of walking; he stopped too and turned to look at me. I drew a steadying breath. "Don't give me false hope. Don't… hold my hand, like you did after the Dark Tournament ended, and don't—"

He took a step closer to me. He was staring into me, not just at me.

I bit my lip. "And don't act like you care… _that_ much. Because that just makes it harder. I'm not mad at you for doing what you did after the last match… because emotions were running high and I know it didn't mean anything but—"

He reached out and took my hand. I glanced up at him quickly.

"What're you doing, Kurama?" I murmured miserably. I shook my head, halfheartedly trying to pull my hand from his. "Let go. You're doing the exact _opposite_ of what I'm asking you to do…"

"I know," he said simply, gazing at me.

My eyes stung. I blinked quickly, fighting back the hurt.

"Are you _trying_ to make me suffer?" I breathed, barely able to speak—my throat was constricting as I tried to hold back tears.

"No," he replied quietly. He inched a little bit closer. I could feel his breath on my face. "I'm being reckless."

And even though I looked him straight in the eye, I didn't see it coming.

There was always a certain distance, a wary boundary, between the two of us. It had been necessary—he was a demon, I was a human, and though we had become good friends… and even more… the separation was an instinctive and natural thing.

Often, when I looked back on this moment, I wondered why going against the grain had been so simple.

Because when he came close, when his hand buried itself in the depths of my jacket hood and twined loosely in my hair—even when his breath fogged the air touching my skin—it was incredibly, bizarrely... easy... to lose myself. To break the habit.

To close my eyes, and kiss him back.

The icy morning was forgotten as his closeness set me on fire—not the flames I was used to, but a different kind, a deep and smoldering thing, a welcome incapacitation.

Because I was helpless, really.

Without my telling them to, my arms reached up and secured themselves around his neck. There was really no need of that—his other arm was already curled around me, drawing me closer, as his lips pressed firmly—but gently—against mine, not allowing me to hesitate, or reconsider.

Though I'll admit, that wasn't really necessary, either.

Then, as if on reluctant, mutual decision, we separated and stared at each other.

Then it hit me.

I blinked several times as this occurred to me, and stepped back, away from him, barely noticing the somewhat confused expression that dimmed his features as I did so.

"You... you kissed me," I wondered aloud, astonished.

There was an unfathomable sentiment lurking behind his gaze as he stared at me, and his eyes did not move an inch from mine.

"Yes, I did," he replied, and his voice was not like mine (puzzled, stunned, idiotic)—his tone was that of someone utterly confident in what they were saying, though not self-centered—he simply knew exactly what he was talking about, and wasn't perturbed by it in the slightest.

"But I thought that you…" It was hard to speak. I swallowed. "I thought that you… didn't want me…"

"I have never _not_ wanted you," he murmured, walking towards me. His thumb brushed over my cheek. "I was afraid that by being with you, you would be in danger. I refused you because I _cared_ for you, Reina," he said quietly.

"Part of me is still very afraid of losing you," he admitted with a sigh. Then his expression hardened. "And I will _not_ let that happen… if you will have me."

There was a very, _very_ long silence—only punctuated by the wind rustling in the branches above our heads, and birdsong.

"What changed your mind?" I asked, utterly confused.

"I could hear you," he told me. His eyes were hard, sad. "When you thought I was dead. I could hear how much pain you were in. I realized that I would be doing something almost like that to you, every day—if I refused you, distanced myself from you." He closed his eyes, and his other hand came up, cupping my face in his palms. His forehead touched mine. His eyes were closed. "I cannot _stand_ the thought of hurting you that way. Almost as much as I cannot stand the thought of _not_ having you."

"So, you aren't going to stay away?" I asked weakly. My hand came up, rested over one of his. He opened his eyes and smiled at me—and moved back a little, shaking his head.

"No."

I suddenly felt very light—weightless. I felt a smile take over my features.

"I can hardly believe it," I whispered. "This isn't a joke, is it?"

He shook his head again. "I'm afraid not," he teased lightly.

I nodded to myself, to him, and twined my fingers in his, letting our hands swing between us.

"Then…" I grinned at him, and he smiled back... looking almost giddy. I could definitely relate. I chuckled, and started pulling him back down the path.

"Let's get off this island."

* * *

Kurama and I walked back to the hotel, and we reluctantly parted ways when I came to my floor. When the elevator closed on his goodbye, I turned on my heel and headed to the hotel room.

The door was unlocked. I pushed it open, depositing my shoes by the doorway.

Shizuru was lounging on the sofa, fiddling idly with a pack of cards, a cigarette smoldering gently in the ashtray on the coffee table.

She glanced at me, and immediately noted:

"You have sex hair."

There was a long, appalled silence, during which I gaped idiotically at my smirking friend, and she shuffled her deck of cards with practiced ease, performing a perfect bridge without even looking down.

"_What_?" I squeaked when I had regained the use of my tongue.

She looked up at me, raising a single eyebrow.

"Sex. Hair. You have it." Her smirk grew. "So you and Kurama..."

"No!" I cried, clamping my hands over my ears. "I don't even—!"

"Overreaction equals guilty conscience. Let's hear the dirty details, girly."

I looked up at her with a pained expression on my face, and she snorted at my mental agony.

"What's the difference between sex hair and normal hair anyway?" I asked, trying to get the thought out of my head. My cheeks were on fire.

With another wide smirk, Shizuru rose to her feet, walked over to me, and plucked something from my hair. Then the leveled it in front of my face.

A leaf.

"In sex hair, you find foreign objects that usually occupy secretive, tryst-like places," she explained with the swiftness of someone who knew exactly what they were talking about. "Normal hair is just normal hair. No mysterious objects." She tossed the leaf over her shoulder lightly; it landed on the armrest of the couch.

"I was hiking," I defended. "Clumsily. I have proof, see?" I turned and grabbed my shoe from its resting place by the wall, and showed her the dirt on the bottom of it.

"Uh-huh," Shizuru said offhandedly. She didn't sound convinced.

"I didn't," I said stubbornly. "I was hiking with—yes—_Kurama_, but I didn't… _jump on him_, or anything. _He_ kissed _me_!" I protested.

She eyed me for a few agonizing seconds.

"Kurama kissed you…?"

My mouth popped open. "Shit," I muttered. "Pretend I didn't say that." I stalked over to my bedroom. "This conversation is _over_, Shizuru!"

"I still say you did it like rabbits in the bushes."

I whirled. "We _didn't_. Don't go around saying that. Okay?"

She snorted a cloud of smoke. "Damn, kiddo, I was just kidding." She walked over to the couch.

"Hey, where're the others?" I questioned, looking over at Shizuru a little nervously. Once bitten, twice shy, I suppose.

"Walking." Shizuru began to deal the cards in a way that I recognized.

"Tyson Chicken Rocks _again_, Shizuru?"

"Sit down and play the game, kid," Shizuru ordered. A sly, evil grin crept onto her features. "Or I'll idly mention to the rest of the group that you and Kurama went _hiking_… all _alone_ in the woods…"

I plopped down on the couch next to her. "Deal the cards, woman."

As Shizuru dealt the cards, I thought over our latest conversation, and decided that it was really for the best that the others hadn't been present for that short, but mortifying, fiasco.

Keiko would be scandalized.

Botan would've scrapbooked it.

And Yukina... probably wouldn't even know what we were talking about. Poor deprived thing.

Shizuru and I ended up replaying TCR until Keiko, Yukina, and Botan arrived.

We would've continued, but as soon as the girls returned, the hotel room was thrown into a state of frantic chaos.

None of them—I repeat, _none_ had thought to pack.

And the boat was arriving in fifteen minutes.

Shizuru went downstairs to buy some food for the trip while the girls ran around the room, grabbing various articles of clothing and other necessities, and I skittered out of their way as they darted haphazardly from the bathroom, to the bedroom, to the living room...

"_When_ did you pack, Reina?" Botan cried pathetically as she sat on her suitcase, using her weight to keep the clasps together so she could close it properly.

I took a sip of some complimentary coffee that I had found in the mini kitchen, decided I didn't like it, and tossed it into the sink.

"Sometime between midnight and sunrise," I said absently, walking over to the fridge and rummaging around for something that would relieve me of the nasty aftertaste of the toxic coffee.

I didn't get much sleep last night.

Now munching on some saltines, I sat cross-legged on the counter and watched my friends rush around the hotel room with cries of:

"Have you seen my toothbrush?"

"Where's my other shoe?"

"_Who_ put my _bra_ in the _freezer_...?"

The latter was most likely thanks to Jin, who had occupied our room while I was unconscious a couple days back, and had probably taken that time to raid our room for undergarments.

As I watched her idly, I yanked the Barrier Stone over my head. Demonic aura rolled off of the ice encasing her bra.

"Put it in the sink," I ordered, finishing my cracker and peeling off one of my gloves. "That was Touya's doing. I'll melt it for you."

Keiko did as she was told, and I directed my power to the block of ice. My fingers sparked, and the ice almost instantaneously melted. I reached down into the sink and lifted it, offering it to Keiko with a smirk.

Jin had probably coaxed Touya into doing it (probably because he had lost a bet of some kind,) but I was really enjoying the mental image of the ice demon rummaging around in Keiko's underwear drawer of his own accord.

Keiko tossed the sopping-wet object into her bag with a twisted grimace, and whipped around to the bathroom again, nearly running into Puu, who was hovering agitatedly over the scene.

"Com'ere," I cooed, holding my hands out to the creature. Yusuke's spirit beast, recognizing a reprieve from the insanity that pervaded the rest of the room (and seeing the saltines,) instantly sped over to me and settled in my arms, pecking a cracker from my hand.

I was combing a finger through the tuft of midnight-black hair on the creature's head just as Shizuru reentered the room, carrying several large bags.

Propping Puu up against the sink, I stood and helped Shizuru stuff the food into a stray duffel bag with little difficulty.

After that, I took a second to look around the room.

There were still several of Yukina's paper wards taped to the walls (they had been placed there to disguise my aura only,) peeling away from the plaster now, hanging dejectedly, as if expecting to be abandoned.

I stared at them, frowning slightly.

Then, walking slowly around the room, I pulled every one of them down, and, not fully aware of why I did so, stowed them in my backpack.

* * *

Rushing now, we girls quickly found an elevator and headed down to the lobby where, as Shizuru had informed us, the rest of our group was waiting.

We found them sitting at a table, where they seemed to be bored out of their minds. Shizuru and I headed towards them, a little further ahead of our group.

"It's just like family vacation—my dumb sister's always making us late..." Kuwabara shifted in his seat as we came into earshot, lacing his fingers behind his head and tilting his chair back. "Probably plucking her moustache..."

Shizuru and I glanced at each other. I smirked. Her expression turned dark.

She took several angry steps forward and leaned forward, until her lips were inches from Kuwabara's ear.

"Should I tell them about your... Fuzzy Wuzzums?" Shizuru growled, voice fairly dripping with acidic fury.

All four legs of Kuwabara's chair crashed to the floor as he lurched away from his sister, clawing himself across the small table—which groaned pathetically under his bulk—and he landed himself in Kurama's chair, which the fox demon had indifferently vacated seconds before.

"H-hey sis!" Kuwabara stammered, grinning stupidly up at her. "I-I was just t-telling them how p-pretty you are..."

"You're a moron."

"Sorry we're late," Keiko, Botan, and Yukina chorused as they caught up with Shizuru and I, all smiling apologetically.

Kurama glanced at me, and I smiled hesitantly at him, my heart flip-flopping unsteadily.

"Oh look," Yusuke grumbled under his breath, glancing up at their approach. "The tone-deaf sirens..."

I glowered at him.

"Here," Shizuru said, tossing her luggage at Kuwabara. "Catch."

Kuwabara managed to catch all of Shizuru's stuff before it hit the ground. "Hey, why do _I _have to carry your junk?"

"Because Yukina thinks very highly of brothers that are nice to their sisters," Shizuru said sweetly, smiling in an evil way at her little brother.

"And their friends," Botan added, grabbing Yukina and Keiko's luggage and swinging it at Kuwabara, along with her own. Kuwabara caught it all with some difficulty, face twisted from the strain.

"Okay..." Kuwabara said with a weak grin in his obsession's direction. He glanced at me, and, with a shrug, I tossed my backpack on top of his precarious load.

"Oof! Thanks, Sparky," he grumbled sarcastically.

"Don't mention it."

All of the guys who were sitting—Kuwabara, Hiei, and Yusuke—rose to their feet as we prepared to go.

"Here," I heard Yusuke mutter, and glanced over to see him shoving an indignantly chirping Puu into Keiko's arms, "you don't mind having Puu duty, do you?"

Keiko shook her head, and Yusuke, with a curt nod, turned on his heel and started heading to the exit, slinging his pack over one shoulder.

"Thanks," Yusuke shot back at her, "Nobody'll take a champ seriously if he's carrying around a blue teddy bear with a beak."

Keiko watched Yusuke's retreating back for a second, then, as I strode past her when Kurama beckoned to me, I heard her murmur:

"Don't worry, Puu. He's just being a jerk."

I thought about that as we headed down to the docks, striding in a loose line with the others down the grassy hillside.

Genkai.

That must be it.

Of course Yusuke would be angry. Sad, even. I had a feeling that he channeled negative emotions with crabbiness, but I could hardly blame him, really. I could catch myself doing the same thing any day.

Again, I realized that I should be feeling something about Genkai's passing, but... I couldn't.

Kuwabara's voice cut through my inner musings.

"Oh, lookee here—our ship's arrived!" He called, pointing out at the blue horizon with some difficulty—because he was still carrying most of our luggage. (I had taken pity on him and retrieved my backpack from the top of the pile.)

I glanced out, and saw the giant boat headed our way, a long, dark streak on the horizon.

Oddly, I felt kind of sad about leaving, despite the fact that our entire stay here had been an awful ordeal.

There were memories here that I wanted to keep.

I frowned to myself and tucked a renegade strand of hair behind my ear, as the wind struggled to free it.

"Finally," I heard Yusuke say. "I can get back to skipping detention..."

Keiko shot him a glare that told him otherwise.

"Video games..." Kuwabara added with a dreamy look.

Smiling slightly, Kurama shifted at my side. He glanced down at me and smiled.

"...Various crimes," I heard Hiei say from somewhere behind me, and could hear the evil smirk in his voice.

I rolled my eyes at Kurama as he smiled down at me, and knew what reason _I_ had to return to my old life.

The reminiscent haze that had settled over the lot of us shifted a bit, and, for a moment, all of us seemed to be feeling buoyant, happy.

"Alright," Yusuke said, and this time, it wasn't in a resentful growl, it was loud, laughing: "Let's go home!"

Botan and Kuwabara cheered in agreement, and I smiled privately to myself, hiding it with a chuckle.

"Well _excuse_ me if I'm a _little _insulted!"

Our momentary happiness deflated like a balloon stabbed with a needle as the voice—elderly, but tough, angry, though a little amused—rose over the din that we were making and pierced the air with the sharp dagger of incredulity.

We all spun around.

There was a short, sturdy figure standing a little ways up the hill, arms crossed behind its back, peering down at us as the silence reigned.

"Wait a sec..." Yusuke grunted, peering at the figure.

I had a feeling that I knew who this was—though I had only known her as the Masked Fighter. But... it was... impossible...

"You're just gonna leave an old fossil behind?" The figure growled.

Botan had apparently jumped to the same conclusion as I.

"_GENKAI_...!" She shrieked, and took off up the hill, leaving the rest of us in the dust. "I-I don't _believe_ it...!"

There were similar exclamations of shock as the rest of the group caught on, and I joined the herd as we all stampeded over to where the wizened old psychic was waiting.

Yusuke was left standing at the foot of the hill, paralyzed, as we all gathered around his revived trainer.

This was the first time I had really gotten a look at her face, and I could see the fragility that comes with age in it... but I could also see a strength that had apparently kept death at bay.

How, who knows?

It was ironic at how happy I was to see her. Considering the fact that I had just been berating myself on not mourning her properly.

And Genkai, with a thin-lipped smirk that splintered her face into thousands of creases, lifted her eyes and stared at Yusuke.

"Guess it must've rubbed off on me, dimwit," she informed him with a snort. "'Cause I died like you did..."

She lifted a finger in his direction, and chuckled once, strangely youthful eyes glinting with humor.

"...Half-assed."

I had a feeling that I was going to like this lady.

* * *

Genkai's revival was later explained, on the boat ride back to the mainland.

Apparently the winning team would've normally gotten a wish granted upon finishing the tournament… but what with the stadium exploding, Yusuke hadn't gotten a chance to do so. Koenma had taken it upon himself to revive Genkai, knowing exactly what Team Urameshi would've wished for.

There was obviously a lot that Genkai didn't tell us—we could tell by the way she snorted instead of answering when we badgered her with questions—but I didn't really mind. I was just glad to finally meet her.

"Hey, kid," she said to me when Botan took a small break from her near-hysterical Q&A. The psychic smirked and tapped her chest. "How's the heart?"

I beamed.

"Great, thanks."

That was really the only conversation we had on the trip home—Genkai wasn't a woman of many words. I didn't mind that; I was used to it and frankly preferred silence.

The boat chugged sluggishly over the water, and, ready to see land again, I had asked Kurama how long it would take to get back to the mainland.

And, shortly afterwards, I had developed a small case of cabin fever.

It would take a little over an hour to reach the shore, so I ended up pacing around the deck, accompanied by an incredibly patient Kurama and occasionally a bored Shizuru, and it was during one of my laps of the deck that I was reunited with a few of my _other _demonic acquaintances.

"Rei!" Jin called excitedly from across the deck, and his image blurred as he ran over to where Kurama and I were leaning against the railing. "Ah thought yeh left earlier!"

"Nah, all of us are hardcore procrastinators," I replied with a smirk after I got over the initial shock of seeing Jin again, and pointed at his (for once) cloth-covered chest. "Hey, you're actually wearing clothes."

Jin plucked the sleeve of his thin sweater, and grinned mischievously, pointed ears twitching comically.

"Disappointed?" he asked in his trademarked, hard-to-understand Irish accent, and waggled his eyebrows at me.

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Yes, Jin. Utterly devastated."

Kurama smothered a chuckle with a fake cough.

Jin left after we exchanged a few more words; he said that he was going to go find Touya, Chu, Rinku, Shishiwakamaru, and Suz—ah, I mean, _Beautiful_ Suzuka—all of whom were apparently scattered all about the boat, and "Itchin' t' see our favorite 'uman!" as Jin had proclaimed before he darted out of sight.

I seriously doubted that Shishi and B.S. (I would have to write that one down, heh,) would be _that_ happy to see me. Shishi was too busy staring at himself to notice much of anything, and I was always making jokes at Suzuka's expense. If anything, Suzuka would seek me out for revenge.

Jin seemed to be taking his time, so, after waiting awhile, I plopped down on the deck, back against the railing, and scuffed idly at some peeling paint that was located in near proximity to my shoe. Kurama sat down next to me, and we waited.

Then suddenly, the world was a blur.

Something that felt like iron jerked me up from the deck, and before my mind could catch up with what was happening, a bruising pressure was pressed to my mouth, silencing my cry of surprise.

Then, it was over and I jerked back, staring wide-eyed up at my assailant.

He grinned down at me.

"_JIN_...!"

My hand clenched into an automatic fist, and it snapped out at his face. It was a vain attempt at revenge, though—he ducked and darted back off across the deck, bent double with laughter.

The momentum of my failed rage sent me spinning in a circle. I saw the ground coming and braced for the impact, but someone's hands steadied me, capturing my fist before it connected with his face.

Kurama gave me an amused look as he set me back on my feet, but didn't release my hand.

After a moment of silence, I saw his eyes slip from my face, and he gave something over my shoulder a long, hard look.

I heard Jin chuckle nervously.

Kurama allowed a small, amused grin to creep onto his features, then he smiled down at me.

"That was unexpected," he mused, lifting an eyebrow.

"Well..." I shrugged, and grinned—I couldn't help it—and nodded at my fist. My thumb was curled over my knuckles, correctly positioned for a punch. "...At least I learned how to deck someone properly." I frowned. "Though I didn't even land it. So I suppose it doesn't really count."

"That can be remedied."

"Jealous, are we?" I smirked. He all but rolled his eyes.

Then, as I turned to shoot Jin a glare, I saw something that brought an end to my temporary good mood.

Jin, I saw, had rounded up the rest of my demonic friends. But that was inconsequential, comparatively...

Because Touya was handing something that looked suspiciously like money to Jin, and both of them were laughing. Hard. Touya was shaking his head in disbelief.

"_Touya?_" I cried, mouth popping open in angry shock. "_You put him up to it_..._?_"

Touya finished dealing out the bills, and waved cheerily at me, smirking, as Rinku grinned up at me from behind Touya's kneecaps.

"It's not like he wasn't _willing_, Reina!"

I shook my head, glaring daggers at him. "I _really_ don't like you right now."

Touya laughed, obviously unperturbed by my Death Glare.

"That's _frigid!_"

Chu, who was standing behind Touya, clapped Suzuka on the shoulder as he bent over, wheezing with laughter, tears streaming from his face. Suzuka shot Chu's hand a nasty look, as Shishi, who was hovering indifferently in the background, shot me a glance and smirked.

"Stop with the cheesy ice references...!" I growled, feeling my face turning hot from a mixture of irritation and embarrassment.

Touya smirked, and blew a sarcastic kiss at me. I saw the fog coming across the deck, and I knew that it was going to be as bitingly cold as my insult. I dove behind Kurama as it passed.

"Finally, you're useful for something," I chuckled, grinning up at him and shivering as Touya's power turned the comparatively warm air into an arctic icebox. "Meatshield."

"My life is complete." Kurama actually rolled his eyes. His breath fogged in the air.

"Ah, take it like a man," Chu chortled, appearing behind Kurama and reaching around him, taking my arm and yanking me into a bone-crushing headlock, rubbing his knuckles painfully over my scalp, which messed up my hair and knocked my jacket hood askew.

"I'm... not—a man...!" I choked, gasping for breath. Chu released me, and I was instantly tugged further away from Kurama.

"Don't throttle her, Chu," Touya reprimanded, punching me lightly on the shoulder and grinning.

I glared. "I still don't forgive you."

"Not necessary," he replied easily, and his grin widened.

I shot him a withering look. "And don't touch me again," I added, referring to the punch.

A gleam that was more common in Jin's eyes appeared in Touya's, and I took a precautionary step back.

"Frosty..." I warned.

In a flash, he had curled one arm around my shoulders, and I swear I felt a something crack in my arm as I struggled to get free.

"_What_ did I do to deserve this?" I grumbled despairingly, trying to twist around so I could sucker punch Touya's face.

He simply laughed, and released me, thumping me on the back in a way that was probably meant to be friendly and light—but instead sent me staggering across the deck, where I narrowly avoided falling flat on my face by grabbing someone's arm.

That someone was none other than the Beautiful Suzuka, who was glaring at my hand like it was a poisonous spider.

I quickly released his arm, and balanced myself by bracing my palms against my knees—and looked up at him pleadingly.

"You're not going to hug me, are you...?" I questioned, half sarcastic, but also partly out of real apprehension.

One of Suzuka's manicured eyebrows lifted into his hairline, then he frowned.

"You have my... most heartfelt assurances," he replied stiffly, crossing his arms.

I grinned. "Thanks."

"—But _ah_ will...!"

I yelped in real fear as I heard heavy footfalls announcing Jin's approach, and dove behind Suzuka just as the wind-wielding Shinobi's arms curled around the empty space that I had just been occupying several seconds ago.

"Not the face...!" Suzuka cried, throwing his arms up as Jin tried to reach around him, who was wearing a manic grin that quite possibly frightened the narcissistic demon more than it did _me_. I simply grabbed the back of Suzuka's shirt and used him as a meatshield, like Kurama before him.

"Hey, Jin..."

I glanced over at the owner of the voice, and paled instantly.

It was Touya.

And, he was wearing a creepy, mischievous grin.

Not good.

I released Suzuka as Jin paused in his abduction attempt, and my former protector shot me a glare right before disappearing off to find a mirror or something.

Shishi and Rinku, I noted, were also gone.

That was all I registered before Touya sealed my fate.

"Jin..." Touya mused, still smirking, "didn't you say that Reina... was afraid of heights...?"

If I had paled before, I was probably transparent now.

Because Jin turned back to me with a wide, evil smile.

Kurama, who had been watching the whole scene amusedly, smirked.

"Back off," I warned, shrinking back as Jin slipped forward, his eyes glinting in a way that meant _nothing_ good.

"Rei..." Jin warned, slinking into a crouch and advancing on me as I skittered across the deck. "There's an easy way, an' a hard way... but yer goin' airborne no matter wha'."

"Don't you touch me!" I snarled desperately, whirling as he lunged forward, hands outstretched to take me. He missed me by inches, and as he stumbled forward, off balance, I took advantage of his preoccupation and darted for Kurama.

...Which didn't work.

"_HELP_...!" I shrieked as Jin jerked me into the air, and deposited me over his shoulder. I kicked fruitlessly at him as he hesitated to see if Kurama was going to do anything about my predicament.

He'd _better_.

I strained to look at Kurama, drumming my fists against Jin's back.

"Kurama!" I gasped. "Kick his face in! Attach him to a parasitic plant! _Anything_...!"

Kurama smiled innocently, blinking up at me.

"Now, why would I do that...?" He mused, eyes glinting mischievously.

"Because he's going _to kill me!_" I cried pathetically.

"No ah ain't!" Jin retorted indignantly, and jostled me, obviously disgruntled that I would think of such a thing.

"You see, Reina..." Kurama said smoothly, crossing his arms in an unconcerned way and leaning more heavily against the railing. "You will have fun."

I opened my mouth to plead, but he lifted a hand, smiling as he continued:

"Rest assured, if he so much as considered dropping you, I would have him disemboweled and writhing on the bottom of the sea in a matter of three seconds."

Jin and I both stared dumbly at the fox demon as he smiled genially up at us.

"B-but..." I whimpered. "I... don't fly. I don't do heights..."

Kurama smirked.

And I instantly became very angry.

"Some boyfriend _you_ are!" I accused, jabbing a finger at him and glaring.

I was going to add more on the subject of Kurama's lack of manliness, but then Botan appeared out of nowhere, and grabbed Kurama by his jacket collar.

"_WHAT_?" she squealed, and continued in one breath:

"You didn't tell me that you and Reina were _DATING_ so you'd better spill the beans _PRONTO_ fox boy or you're going overboard...!"

"Reina!" Kurama cried, trying to wrench himself free of Botan and shooting me a desperate look.

"What?" I asked innocently, smirking and trying to wriggle free of Jin's grasp. "You will have _fun_, Kurama," I finished, imitating his voice. I lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh you are clever, my dear," Kurama managed sarcastically, trying to pry Botan's fingers off of his jacket.

"Yes, I know." I launched a vicious kick into Jin's gut, but my foot simply bounced off and my toe throbbed. "Holy, Jin, you have abs of steel!"

He sniggered and began walking across the deck.

To the front of the boat.

Where, I assumed, I would meet my demise.

"Yusuke...!" I cried pathetically as we passed him. "Help me!"

Yusuke looked up, interested. But not in a way that was going to help me any, I don't think... because he grinned evilly and shook his head.

"Nah, Sparky... I don't think I will." He shot a thumbs-up at Jin. "Have fun."

As Jin made his way down the deck, I shot pleading looks to my companions—Genkai simply snorted and smirked at my predicament, Shizuru pointedly lit up a cigarette, Yukina waved cheerily, and Kuwabara grinned stupidly.

Chu, needless to say, was laughing his head off, and Suzuka, who had reemerged from wherever he had disappeared to, was actually smirking as I begged for help.

Keiko didn't seem to be amused, though. She actually looked worried, and was inching forward tentatively to help.

"Keiko! Take out his kneecaps!" I ordered, writhing in Jin's grip and shooting her the most desperate, pleading look I could muster.

"Um..."

And as Keiko edged forward hesitantly, Jin paused, and turned to look at her, a creepy and very disturbing grin slipping onto his features. An actual growl slipped past his lips, and he flashed his fangs menacingly.

Needless to say, Keiko skittered away with a squeaked: "Sorry!" And hid behind Yusuke.

Only one person left.

I knew that helplessness would not work on him, and I knew that asking nicely wouldn't either. So, when I pleaded my case to Hiei, I unloaded everything that my mind could think of to sway him.

"Hiei..." I warned severely. "I swear to God if you don't help me... I'm…_I'm going to imagine Kuwabara_ _NAKED...!_"

Hiei's eyes bulged.

"Yes, that's right!_ Constantly_!" I continued, nodding furiously and kicking at Jin.

Hiei regained a little bit of his composure... though I saw his face twitch into a grimace, obviously disgusted at the mere thought.

"I doubt you'll be able to bring yourself to imagine it," Hiei growled.

"You wanna bet?" I shot back desperately. Hiei glared.

"I doubt it," he repeated.

We had a glaring contest for a few more seconds, and then Jin sighed in an annoyed way, and began walking again.

"Crap!" I yelped, writhing, trying to break free.

"'Tis not working, Rei."

"Let go!"

"No!" Jin retorted, and grabbed the railing with his free hand, hoisting himself up with me in tow.

"Let—_AHHHHHH_...!"

In the middle of my desperate urging, Jin had leaped off the deck of the boat.

We began to plummet to the black, dark water.

"_AHHHHHH_...!"

Then, a gale picked up, ripping past us, around us. Circling.

Lifting.

And we rocketed into the air.

Jin was laughing manically as I shrieked my head off, wanting to claw myself out of his grasp but realizing, as we broke through a few low-hanging clouds, that that probably _wasn't_ a good idea.

The wind slowly began to die as we leveled off, and we floated easily many hundreds of feet over the now-tiny boat, held aloft by a silent, barely noticeable breeze.

If I wasn't so terrified, I would have admired what Jin was doing here. After all, flight was pretty incredible.

But I _was_ scared.

Jin apparently thought otherwise, though.

"See? 'Tis not so bad."

I let out another yelp of terror as he swung me from his shoulder, taking both of my hands in each of his.

My feet dangled into empty space, and I stared at the worn sneakers, the frayed shoelaces, with wide, terrified eyes.

"I swear to everything that is holy..." A red-headed speck on the deck of the boat waved cheerily up at me, and I resisted the urge to throw my shoe at it, "if you drop me, Jin..."

"Ahm not gonna drop you!" He assured me loudly, probably irritated at my blatant distrust, and I looked up at him.

He grinned, tapered ears sticking straight out and twitching comically. "Yer not afraid anymore, an' you know it."

"Shut up."

"Tha's 'cause I'm 'ere," Jin stated proudly, as we bobbed in a slight breeze that wasn't his.

"Don't flatter yourself." My cheeks stung as I spoke. "It's cold up here."

"Not t' me."

"Because _you're_ a demon." I rolled my eyes. "And I'm human. Can we go back down now?"

"Admit it," Jin sang, grinning toothily.

"Admit _what_?" I growled. My fear was fading in the face of my irritation. As long as I didn't look down.

"Tha' yer havin' fun."

"Sure. Fun," I snorted.

Jin's fingers slipped on mine. I sank a little, and stared up at him in horror.

He was still smirking widely, eyes shining with impish glee. "Wha' was that, Rei...?" he asked menacingly, lifting an eyebrow, face almost lost in the sun. It seemed so much bigger up here.

"Fun!" I squeaked, panicked. "Having fun! _So much fun…!_"

His grin widened impossibly, and he pulled me back up to his level.

My teeth were starting to chatter. "Ground, please? Or deck? Or whatever..."

Jin blinked, smile fading slightly. "Yeh don' look so great, Rei..."

"That's probably because my toes are turning black and crumbling inside my shoes," I answered in a quick breath, just before I started to shudder. "H-heat's sup-p-posed to r-rise..." I stuttered. This was _so_ not fair.

"Okay," Jin allowed uneasily, pulling me to his side. "Hang on."

I locked my arms around his ribcage as we began to sink.

Hours, it seemed, later, my numbed feet touched the deck, and a different pair of arms caught me as I stumbled away from Jin.

I glowered up at Kurama as I began to thaw out.

He smiled. "Did you have fun?"

Without waiting for an answer, he leaned forward, down to me...

_THWACK_.

My palm was pressed over his face, blocking his mouth and nose. Effectively denying him the lip-lock that he so blatantly sought.

"I'd prefer to keep my face to myself," I said sweetly.

"Why?" he asked, a little miffed, voice muffled by my hand. "Your hands are cold," he noted.

"Because you're repenting for your lack of testosterone. And yes, I know."

One of Kurama's arms released me, and his fingers curled around my wrist, prying my hand from his face. He lifted an eyebrow at my glare. "Come again?"

"You heard me. You're not a man. A _real_ man would've saved the damsel in distress."

"You were not in distress."

"Then you're atoning for being incredibly unobservant as well," I sniffed, pulling away from him and crossing my arms.

Kurama studied me. Then he frowned.

"You are not serious."

"Yes, actually, I am." I smirked widely at his slightly put out expression. "Hurts, doesn't it?"

Kurama rolled his eyes, and took a step closer to me, arm snaking around my waist again. I lifted my hand, ready.

"You are quite cruel, Reina. Did you know that?"

"You think _that's_ cruel…?" I asked, and then with a smirk, I lunged at him and snaked my frozen fingertips under the collar of his shirt at the nape of his neck. He recoiled instantly with a startled grunt, shuddering convulsively at the chill, and I turned and bolted across the deck before he could assume revenge.

* * *

When we finally reached the shore, it was time to say goodbye to all of the people that we had met during the Dark Tournament.

"I'll see you around, Frosty," I told Touya with a smirk, after I had disentangled myself from Jin and Chu, who apparently were set on taking me with them—wherever they were headed. They were going after Keiko now, and Yusuke was trying to fend them off.

Touya quirked a smile and clapped me on my shoulder. "You take care. Don't zap any big demons and kill yourself, all right?"

I snorted and grinned. "Right. I'll remember that."

After another round of goodbyes, my group headed to the nearest bus stop.

It was an hour's walk through the forest, during which Botan kept up a steady stream of chatter, and snapped pictures of everyone with the camera that she had apparently thought to bring along. I wondered nervously how long she had had that in her possession—I hadn't realized that she had been capturing potential blackmail all this time.

She kept trying to get all of the couples in the group to pose for her.

And Kurama and I were apparently a novelty—because we had just started dating (What a strange word to apply to the two of us…) And that prompted her to harass us both while brandishing a camera. Which was a little annoying.

Kurama took it well, though. Chivalry was still alive, and kicking, apparently.

Though he would always smirk a little, and glance at me sideways. And I would shrug, and fight a smile.

Truth was, I didn't really mind.

* * *

We were almost home.

We had stopped in a little town that I didn't know the name of, and had about an hour before we had to catch the bus that would bring us through Mushiyori City, and, beyond that, home.

And the only thing on Kuwabara's mind (other than Yukina, that is) was… food.

So, to that end, we had walked to a small fast food restaurant that was a fifteen minute's walk from the bus station, and had occupied three booths.

It was like being in the midst of a small army.

We dominated most of the space in the tiny diner, and an old couple was giving us dirty looks as they sat at a crooked table across the room.

Yusuke, Keiko, Kuwabara, and Yukina were seated in one booth, Botan, Shizuru, and Genkai in the other, and, to my distaste, Kurama and I were sharing a booth with Hiei.

Hiei might actually be more displeased at the seating arrangements than I.

After all, if he wasn't on probation, he wouldn't even be here.

Hiei was still paying for breaking into the Spirit world vault (Kurama had long since paid his dues with good behavior,) so that meant that he was still sentenced to the city that the lot of us lived in. So Botan, who was the head ferrygirl of Spirit World, was laden with the task of "escorting" the nasty little fire demon back into the city limits.

Red eyes narrowed in my direction told me that I was musing a little too much over Hiei's punishment, so I rolled my eyes and twisted in my seat to talk to Yukina.

"I do not know what to get..." she confided quietly, blinking up at me and gesturing to her menu helplessly.

She, at least, was willing to brave Kuwabara's choice of fast food. (Which was greasy and unappetizing-looking.)

Yukina's brother had flatly refused when Botan had timidly asked him what he wanted.

Hiei probably preferred eating children, anyway.

"The number four looks good," I replied absently, giving the menu a single glance and ignoring the glare that I could feel burning a hole in the back of my head.

It was then that Kuwabara leaped into the conversation in a desperate attempt to claim his obsession's attention.

"It's _really_ good, Yukina!" he cried, grinning widely when she turned to look at him.

"And I'll get it too," he added with a goofy, puppy-dog esque smile. "And then we can share a shake! Which kind do you want, my love…?"

I resisted the urge to snort, and flicked my gaze up to Yusuke's.

He was smirking. "Whipped, much? What d'ya think, Sparky?"

"Takes one to know one." I countered, smiling sweetly.

Narrowly avoiding the chopsticks he hurled in my direction, I turned around and sat back down, glancing to my left and rolling my eyes at Kurama, who was seated closest to the window.

He smiled crookedly in return, and glanced back at his menu. His knee bumped mine, whether by accident or on purpose, I don't know. But I rolled my eyes and ignored the disgust that was now the dominating expression of Hiei's features.

"So, Hiei, what do you plan on doing once we get back?" I asked after we had gotten our food and I picked hesitantly at it (it looked like a heart attack on a plate, but Kurama had already informed me that my meal was on him, and I didn't want him to waste his money.)

I was obviously bored out of my mind to be talking to him; we had studiously disregarded each other's presence up until this point. I flicked my gaze up to Hiei's, and lifted an eyebrow, waiting for his reply.

The sullen and angry demon regarded me with a feral glare, and replied with his trademarked:

"Hn."

"Oh, come on," I ribbed, cocking my head and feigning interest. "There has to be something, Hiei..."

He glared a little more.

Then, he smirked. Evilly.

"You'll find out, woman," he replied, still smirking. His eyes flashed dangerously, and I blanched.

But I wasn't through teasing, yet. I swallowed my apprehension and continued in a musing voice, tapping my chin with a single, gloved finger:

"Aha. So _that's _where the contents of my underwear drawer disappeared to."

Kurama snorted into his flat soda, and tried to cover it with a fake sneeze. Hiei's features convulsed into a grimace. I smiled innocently.

And so the afternoon continued. After eating (well,eventually deciding to not consume the throbbing goo in my case, and hiding it in a napkin so as not to offend Kuwabara in Yukina's case,) we still had some time left over to hit the stores.

Botan's idea. Not mine. I hated shopping.

Yukina was thrilled, though—she hadn't shopped much in the Human World—so I tagged along and didn't complain. Much.

Kuwabara kept us company, and, not to be outdone, Yusuke and Kurama came along too. Hiei took up residence outside every store we went into, always finding an abandoned park bench so he could make small children cry and old ladies fix him with a Death Glare every time they passed him, and Genkai disappeared off somewhere, doing whatever old psychics did in their spare time. She would probably find a game of extreme bingo somewhere.

It seemed that one of Botan's goals in life was to see me wearing something other than jeans and my favorite navy blue jacket.

...So every time we encountered something frilly and pink, she wrestled me into a dressing room and locked me in there with the said item of clothing, threatening to leave me there until I paraded myself in front of them all while wearing whatever godawful article of clothing she had unearthed.

Kurama would let me out before I succumbed to Botan's wishes and humiliated myself, though, so the afternoon ended without consequence.

After checking my watch, I announced that it was time to catch the bus and go home.

We headed to the bus stop, Hiei shadowing us and Genkai appearing out of nowhere, and waited there until the bus reached us.

I fiddled with the Barrier Stone while we waited, sitting on the arm of the park bench next to Yukina. Kuwabara's bulk took up the rest of the space.

And, as luck would have it, I immediately got the chain stuck in my hair.

Sighing wearily, I stood and took a few steps away from Yukina and Kurama so my aura wouldn't bother them, and pulled the amulet over my head, grabbing the unruly bulk that was my hair and twisting it over my shoulder so I could better see the tangle and work the Barrier Stone free.

After a few minutes of effort and smiling apologetically at Yukina and Kurama, who, despite my distance, still noticed my spiritual energy, I finally unraveled the knot.

My gaze traveled aimlessly over our group as I absentmindedly replaced the Barrier Stone.

Then my fingers froze, dropping the Barrier Stone so that it bounced against my neck, and I looked carefully at the thing that had caught my attention.

Frowning slightly to myself, brow furrowing, I lifted my hand to the pendant at my neck, and, with a habitual, easy tug, pulled the chain back over my head again.

I stared at Yusuke.

Something there… a warm, nervous feeling.

My frown deepened.

Somehow, his presence called incessantly out to me, like a foghorn, like a train wreck. Awful, sort of… but impossible to look away from.

Something was happening here.

Something in my chest... twisting in sickened apprehension.

A buzzing in my head.

"Reina...?"

I jerked out of my reverie to look at the person who had interrupted my fixated study.

Kurama stared worriedly down at me, and, as I looked at him, I could feel his aura smoldering dully on my skin, reminding me that my energy was probably bugging him right about now.

"Sorry," I murmured, edging a little ways away from him. I turned my face back to Yusuke, ducking my head so Kurama wouldn't be able to see what I was looking at. I didn't want him to worry.

Nothing.

Just Yusuke standing there, talking with Keiko. He snorted at something she said, shrugging offhandedly, lips quirking upwards in amusement.

"Is there something wrong?"

When I looked back up at Kurama, I saw that he was now looking in the general direction of our group, trying to pinpoint the source of my unease, eyes calculating and narrowed slightly with concerned study.

Trying to find out what was wrong.

And, in that moment, oddly... I didn't want him to know.

And I wasn't so sure if there _was_ something there, anyway.

"No, nothing," I concluded in light tones, slipping the Barrier Stone back over my head. I could still feel my insides writhing nauseatingly, in contradiction to my assurance.

Firmly, I repeated my words to myself, forcing myself to believe them. Repeated them.

Relief came instantaneously, like a blackboard cleared of convoluted writing. And I realized, as I smiled and tapped Kurama's elbow to get him moving, and we walked up next to our friends, and as I glanced up at Yusuke's familiar, smirking face, that I was probably being silly.

Must be imagining things.

**THE END**

* * *

**_Against the Grain_ is officially over. Er, again. XD**

**Well, I hope you guys have liked the story, and I hope that you'll stay tuned for the sequel, _With the Tide_.**

**I'd like to thank everyone who is reading this for having the patience to read this monster of a story. And I'd like to thank every single one of you that has faithfully reviewed, offering inspiration, and that awesome constructive criticism that made _Against the Grain_ what it was.**

**(Oh yeah, and on a side note, Hiei never _once_ said Reina's name. Never. :D )**

**This is your last chance to review this story! Yes, lurkers, even you! I can see you on the amount of visitors per chapter… don't be stingy now ;P**

**Nah, I love you regardless. Until next time!**

—**crossyourteez**


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